Larson Financial Group LLC Reduces Position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Larson Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $2,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ADM. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 37.3% during the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 641 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland stock traded down $0.83 on Tuesday, reaching $61.67. 1,215,167 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,002,944. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.48. The firm has a market cap of $30.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.77. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1-year low of $50.72 and a 1-year high of $87.30.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $22.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.79 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 3.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on 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. StockNews.com downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Argus downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Archer-Daniels-Midland currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.50.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

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.