Candriam S.C.A. Raises Position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 41.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,210 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,466 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $2,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ADM. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

NYSE ADM opened at $49.46 on Monday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52-week low of $44.92 and a 52-week high of $66.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.83 and a 200-day moving average of $53.50.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.77 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is currently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.89.

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.