Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Stock Position Raised by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,715 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,280 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $4,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ADM. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the second quarter worth $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth $28,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth $30,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

NYSE ADM opened at $62.60 on Friday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.72 and a fifty-two week high of $87.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $58.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 0.77.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.07). Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $22.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is presently 31.25%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays lowered Archer-Daniels-Midland from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price objective (down from $104.00) on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.50.

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.