Sarasin & Partners LLP Sells 40,000 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Sarasin & Partners LLP reduced its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 61.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,000 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $1,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter valued at $420,457,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 41.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,641,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $651,737,000 after buying an additional 2,547,232 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,325,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,106,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,284 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 27,778.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,009,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,114,000 after buying an additional 1,005,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,864,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,026,000 after buying an additional 683,984 shares during the period. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Archer-Daniels-Midland news, insider Fruit Molly L. Strader sold 6,904 shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.73, for a total transaction of $419,279.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,555 shares in the company, valued at $519,545.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ADM. Citigroup increased their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $66.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Archer-Daniels-Midland stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.91. 332,933 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,318,758. The firm has a market cap of $30.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.52. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a twelve month low of $50.72 and a twelve month high of $87.30.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $21.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.26 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 3.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.09%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company 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.