Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 58,789 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 869,053 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,789 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $43,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 724.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ADM stock opened at $47.87 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.19. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1-year low of $44.92 and a 1-year high of $66.08. The company has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is presently 56.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ADM. Bank of America decreased their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.63.

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.