Essex Financial Services Inc. Increases Holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,561 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,105 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE ADM opened at $45.22 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.42 and its 200 day moving average is $55.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 5.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.72. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a twelve month low of $45.01 and a twelve month high of $66.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is currently 55.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens cut their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.11.

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.