Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Shares Sold by Ruffer LLP

Ruffer LLP lowered its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,159,618 shares of the company’s stock after selling 151,060 shares during the period. Archer-Daniels-Midland accounts for approximately 2.1% of Ruffer LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Ruffer LLP owned 0.24% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $58,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of ADM opened at $49.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52 week low of $44.92 and a 52 week high of $66.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.54.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ADM shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.89.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

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.