Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 302 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,811 shares of the company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ADM. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

ADM stock opened at $60.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $30.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.81. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a one year low of $50.72 and a one year high of $87.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.60.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is 31.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ADM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $116.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $90.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Roth Mkm lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.50.

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.