Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Stake Increased by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 64.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,301 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,144 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $1,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 223,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,158 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,215,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,394,000 after acquiring an additional 76,787 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 85,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 35,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,816,000 after acquiring an additional 13,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 0.4 %

ADM stock opened at $45.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.44 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52-week low of $44.92 and a 52-week high of $66.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ADM shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.11.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Profile

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company engages in the procurement, transportation, storage, processing, and merchandising of agricultural commodities, ingredients, flavors, and solutions in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition.