Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 533,593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,596 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.72% of AGCO worth $52,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in shares of AGCO by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 32,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after buying an additional 7,539 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in AGCO by 106.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 192,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,328,000 after purchasing an additional 99,212 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in AGCO by 176.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 21,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,656,000 after purchasing an additional 13,952 shares during the period. Cim LLC purchased a new position in shares of AGCO in the fourth quarter worth about $994,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of AGCO by 28.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 63,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,853,000 after purchasing an additional 14,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.80% of the company’s stock.

AGCO Price Performance

AGCO stock opened at $91.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.20. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 6.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.27. AGCO Co. has a one year low of $84.35 and a one year high of $132.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.90 by ($0.37). AGCO had a return on equity of 21.17% and a net margin of 3.13%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that AGCO Co. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGCO Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. AGCO’s payout ratio is currently 7.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AGCO news, Director Michael C. Arnold bought 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $87.69 per share, for a total transaction of $157,842.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,465 shares in the company, valued at $1,794,575.85. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Michael C. Arnold bought 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $87.69 per share, for a total transaction of $157,842.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,794,575.85. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lange Bob De purchased 1,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $87.91 per share, for a total transaction of $124,832.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,007 shares in the company, valued at $615,985.37. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of AGCO from $139.00 to $129.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on AGCO from $127.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on AGCO from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Raymond James began coverage on AGCO in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AGCO from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.91.

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.