Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Shares Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 72.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 275,476 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 115,400 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $13,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 151,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,659,000 after buying an additional 5,502 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,359,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,150,390,000 after purchasing an additional 706,567 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 29,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter valued at about $22,109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ADM opened at $47.87 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.14. The stock has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. 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 52-week low of $44.92 and a 52-week high of $66.08.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut 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. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of 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 boosted their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens cut their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.63.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company 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.