Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 165,438 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 364.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210,888 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 165,438 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $10,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of ADM opened at $45.74 on Monday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a one year low of $45.01 and a one year high of $66.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.72 and a 200 day moving average of $55.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.44 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.46%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is presently 55.40%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ADM shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.33.

Archer-Daniels-Midland 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.