LPL Financial LLC Sells 28,030 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

LPL Financial LLC cut its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 352,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,030 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $17,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,730,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,409,000 after buying an additional 360,844 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,473,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,340,000 after acquiring an additional 894,562 shares during the last quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,217,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter worth about $614,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 127.7% during the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 46,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 26,329 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE ADM opened at $48.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.83 and its 200-day moving average is $52.06. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a one year low of $44.92 and a one year high of $66.08. The firm has a market cap of $23.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is 56.51%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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. 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. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Archer-Daniels-Midland has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.