KBC Group NV Trims Holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 48.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,822 shares of the company’s stock after selling 283,992 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.06% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $15,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ADM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lowered Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $63.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Archer-Daniels-Midland presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.89.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE ADM opened at $50.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.28. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12-month low of $48.40 and a 12-month high of $66.08. The company has a market capitalization of $24.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is 57.14%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.