Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 129,525 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 848,364 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 129,525 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $42,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ADM. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $47.87 on Friday. 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 cap of $22.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.89 and a 200-day moving average of $52.24.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens cut their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on 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. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.63.

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.