Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 169,475 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $8,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 724.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America cut 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.63.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $43.32 on Monday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a one year low of $41.78 and a one year high of $66.08. The company has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.66. 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 50-day simple moving average of $47.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.67.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 EPS 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 company had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board 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.