Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 2,420 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,420 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $5,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 724.6% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

ADM stock opened at $46.21 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.64. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12-month low of $44.92 and a 12-month high of $66.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is currently 56.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ADM shares. Barclays decreased 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 report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Archer-Daniels-Midland presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.63.

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.