Vest Financial LLC Grows Stock Position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,004,578 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 222,150 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $50,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 724.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.33.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of ADM opened at $45.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.55. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.01 and a fifty-two week high of $66.08. The stock has a market cap of $21.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 2.07%. The business had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.