William Blair Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 823 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AGCO were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in AGCO by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $206,525,000 after purchasing an additional 538,955 shares in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AGCO during the fourth quarter worth about $39,269,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of AGCO by 386.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 249,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,389,000 after buying an additional 198,014 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of AGCO by 67.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 457,175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,739,000 after buying an additional 183,688 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AGCO during the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,845,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on AGCO from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AGCO in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AGCO from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Baird R W downgraded shares of AGCO from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of AGCO from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.60.

AGCO Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AGCO opened at $95.21 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.73, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. AGCO Co. has a 52-week low of $84.35 and a 52-week high of $125.76.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). AGCO had a negative net margin of 3.64% and a positive return on equity of 13.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AGCO Co. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGCO Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. AGCO’s dividend payout ratio is presently -20.39%.

About AGCO

AGCO Corporation manufactures and distributes agricultural equipment and related replacement parts worldwide. It offers horsepower tractors for row crop production, soil cultivation, planting, land leveling, seeding, and commercial hay operations; utility tractors for small- and medium-sized farms, as well as for dairy, livestock, orchards, and vineyards; and compact tractors for small farms, specialty agricultural industries, landscaping, equestrian, and residential uses.