Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Acquires 21,324 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 37.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,695 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,324 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $3,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ADM. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.11.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of ADM opened at $45.22 on Thursday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1-year low of $45.01 and a 1-year high of $66.08. The stock has a market cap of $21.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.44 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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 business had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is currently 55.40%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.