Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Sells 200 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $2,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 4,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,304,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

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 on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.73, for a total value of $419,279.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,545.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Archer-Daniels-Midland stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $60.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,726,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,361,535. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12-month low of $50.72 and a 12-month high of $87.30. The company has a market capitalization of $29.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.31.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The business had revenue of $21.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is 35.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.