Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Shares Acquired by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 170,273 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,388 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $8,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 724.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $63.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $51.23 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.94. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12-month low of $48.40 and a 12-month high of $68.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company 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.