Loudon Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Loudon Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,297 shares of the company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $1,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,594,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $699,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 14,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,577 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 19,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 19,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.63.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ADM opened at $46.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.39. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1 year low of $44.92 and a 1 year high of $66.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.80.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 2.10%. The business had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership 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.