KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 437,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,109,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,045,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,914,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,256 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 41.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,430,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,160,755,000 after buying an additional 5,702,451 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,382,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,531,000 after buying an additional 2,296,193 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,979,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,757,000 after buying an additional 1,007,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,875,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,813,000 after acquiring an additional 268,102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 0.7 %

ADM stock opened at $46.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12 month low of $44.92 and a 12 month high of $66.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.64.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.42%. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has initiated 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens decreased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.63.

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.