Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Shares Purchased by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 28.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,382,639 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,296,193 shares during the quarter. Archer-Daniels-Midland accounts for approximately 1.1% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $524,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 0.9% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 20,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.4% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 5,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ADM. Barclays lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $63.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.89.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of ADM stock opened at $50.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $51.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 0.72. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12 month low of $48.40 and a 12 month high of $66.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.