Swiss National Bank Sells 75,100 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,676,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.31% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $121,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price objective (down previously from $104.00) on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Argus cut shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $66.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.50.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

NYSE:ADM opened at $59.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.85. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1-year low of $50.72 and a 1-year high of $87.30. The stock has a market cap of $29.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.78.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company had revenue of $21.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s quarterly revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.09%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.