CoreFirst Bank & Trust Makes New $30,000 Investment in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 724.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of ADM stock opened at $47.01 on Thursday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1 year low of $44.92 and a 1 year high of $66.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.34.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 2.10%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ADM shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stephens cut their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.63.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company 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.