Welch Group LLC Trims Position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Welch Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 21.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,644 shares of the company’s stock after selling 988 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,227,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,534,000 after buying an additional 139,064 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 383,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,728,000 after purchasing an additional 60,313 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter worth $1,942,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 414,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,946,000 after purchasing an additional 138,806 shares during the period. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Archer-Daniels-Midland

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

NYSE:ADM opened at $61.01 on Friday. 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 Company has a 12-month low of $50.72 and a 12-month high of $87.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.75.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $21.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.26 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 3.32%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.09%.

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

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.