abrdn plc Boosts Stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

abrdn plc increased its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 32.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 425,311 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 105,361 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $30,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 37.3% during the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 641 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ADM. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price target (down previously from $104.00) on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research note on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays downgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus cut Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.50.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ADM opened at $62.50 on Tuesday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1-year low of $50.72 and a 1-year high of $87.30. 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 50 day simple moving average of $58.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.48. The stock has a market cap of $31.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.77.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $22.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.79 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.25%.

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.