Verity & Verity LLC Purchases 12,388 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,273 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,388 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $8,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 724.6% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America cut shares of 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. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ADM opened at $51.23 on Friday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a twelve month low of $48.40 and a twelve 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 company has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.75 and its 200 day moving average is $56.94.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board 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.