Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,797 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,692 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $3,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 724.6% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ADM. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.63.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:ADM opened at $47.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.27. 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.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire 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.

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.