Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Shares Bought by Bell Bank

Bell Bank lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 150,978 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,036 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $7,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 5,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC lifted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 16,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on ADM shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.11.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Up 3.8 %

NYSE:ADM opened at $48.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.72. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52 week low of $44.92 and a 52 week high of $66.08. The company has a current ratio of 5.44, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.47 and a 200-day moving average of $54.35.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.22%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is 56.51%.

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.