Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 1,346 Shares of AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO) by 56.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AGCO were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in AGCO during the 4th quarter worth about $3,144,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in AGCO in the fourth quarter worth approximately $311,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in AGCO by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 14,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AGCO by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 684,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,959,000 after buying an additional 150,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of AGCO by 98.5% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 49,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,582,000 after buying an additional 24,320 shares during the period. 78.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut shares of AGCO from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on AGCO from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AGCO from $102.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Baird R W downgraded shares of AGCO from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of AGCO from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

AGCO Price Performance

AGCO opened at $80.96 on Friday. AGCO Co. has a fifty-two week low of $73.79 and a fifty-two week high of $121.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $92.13 and a 200 day moving average of $95.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.23, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.16.

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

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.