Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,500,871 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,372 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $75,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 724.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $63.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.33.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

NYSE ADM opened at $45.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.44 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12 month low of $45.01 and a 12 month high of $66.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.38.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 4.46%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.40%.

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