MMA Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

MMA Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,926 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,515 shares during the period. MMA Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Bank of America reduced their price objective on 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.89.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:ADM opened at $47.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.39. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a one year low of $44.92 and a one year high of $66.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.95. The stock has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared 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 usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.