Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Stake Cut by National Pension Service

National Pension Service trimmed its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 34.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 822,389 shares of the company’s stock after selling 428,735 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.17% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $41,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens lowered their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Archer-Daniels-Midland has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.89.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:ADM opened at $47.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1-year low of $44.92 and a 1-year high of $66.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.98.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. This is a positive change from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is currently 56.51%.

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

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

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.