Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Acquires New Shares in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADM. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.0% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 641 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.9% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ADM opened at $61.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.40. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12 month low of $50.72 and a 12 month high of $87.30.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $22.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.25%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ADM. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $90.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

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.