Empower Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,215,242 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,787 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $61,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,730,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,409,000 after purchasing an additional 360,844 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $2,339,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,082,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,163,000 after acquiring an additional 489,217 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,086,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,084,000 after acquiring an additional 489,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth about $1,526,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ADM. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.11.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $46.12 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.73. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52 week low of $44.92 and a 52 week high of $66.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. 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. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is 55.40%.

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

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.