Calton & Associates Inc. Takes Position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Archer-Daniels-Midland

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of ADM traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $60.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,628,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,367,933. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.75. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1-year low of $50.72 and a 1-year high of $87.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company had revenue of $21.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is currently 35.09%.

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.