Level Four Advisory Services LLC Decreases Holdings in AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO) by 26.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 53,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,415 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AGCO were worth $4,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AGCO. State Street Corp raised its stake in AGCO by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,978,963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,661,000 after acquiring an additional 80,846 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AGCO by 7.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,205,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $121,121,000 after purchasing an additional 80,516 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of AGCO by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 758,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,880,000 after purchasing an additional 134,651 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AGCO by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 711,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,536,000 after purchasing an additional 27,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of AGCO by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 699,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,383,000 after purchasing an additional 133,492 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.80% of the company’s stock.

AGCO Trading Down 5.3 %

NYSE AGCO opened at $93.58 on Friday. AGCO Co. has a 52-week low of $84.35 and a 52-week high of $125.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.45, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:AGCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). AGCO had a positive return on equity of 13.40% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. Equities research analysts expect that AGCO Co. will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

AGCO Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. AGCO’s payout ratio is currently -20.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AGCO. Citigroup lifted their price target on AGCO from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AGCO from $102.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AGCO from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AGCO in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of AGCO from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.60.

AGCO Profile

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.