Swiss National Bank Sells 116,800 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,350,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 116,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $68,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ADM. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 724.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ADM opened at $47.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52 week low of $44.92 and a 52 week high of $66.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.12. 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 (NYSE:ADM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is 56.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ADM shares. Stephens lowered their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.63.

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.