Investors Buy Large Volume of Archer Daniels Midland Call Options (NYSE:ADM)

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 60,742 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,290% compared to the typical volume of 4,371 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David R. Mcatee II purchased 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.90 per share, for a total transaction of $486,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 7,500 shares in the company, valued at $486,750. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ADM. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in Archer Daniels Midland during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 367.0% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 313.8% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Archer Daniels Midland during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC boosted its position in Archer Daniels Midland by 113.6% during the third quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ADM shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Archer Daniels Midland from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Archer Daniels Midland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $57.00.

Archer Daniels Midland Stock Performance

Shares of ADM traded up $0.02 on Friday, reaching $69.52. 3,062,561 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,023,435. The firm has a market cap of $33.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.71. Archer Daniels Midland has a 12 month low of $40.98 and a 12 month high of $70.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $62.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 11.20 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $18.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.03 billion. Archer Daniels Midland had a net margin of 1.34% and a return on equity of 7.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Archer Daniels Midland has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-4.250 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Archer Daniels Midland will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer Daniels Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Archer Daniels Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Archer Daniels Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.89%.

Archer Daniels Midland Company Profile

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is a global agricultural processor and food-ingredient provider that sources, transports and processes oilseeds, corn, wheat and other agricultural commodities. The company operates large-scale crushing, refining and processing facilities that produce vegetable oils, protein meals, corn sweeteners, starches, ethanol, animal feeds and a wide range of food and industrial ingredients. ADM also develops specialty ingredients and solutions for human and animal nutrition, food and beverage formulation, and industrial applications such as bio-based materials and renewable fuels.

ADM’s business combines commodity origination and merchandising with downstream manufacturing and ingredient formulation.