DnB Asset Management AS Sells 56,828 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

DnB Asset Management AS reduced its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 33.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,635 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,828 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $5,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter valued at $333,521,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,430,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,160,755,000 after acquiring an additional 5,702,451 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,382,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,531,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,193 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,045,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,914,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,979,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007,494 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ADM shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Archer-Daniels-Midland currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.63.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ADM opened at $47.87 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.89 and its 200-day moving average is $52.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1-year low of $44.92 and a 1-year high of $66.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 2.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.