Hickory Point Bank & Trust Invests $1.22 Million in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 24,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,217,000. Archer-Daniels-Midland accounts for about 1.1% of Hickory Point Bank & Trust's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,730,182 shares of the company's stock worth $87,409,000 after purchasing an additional 360,844 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $8,677,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter valued at $2,339,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.4% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,138,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,011,000 after acquiring an additional 68,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 55,680 shares of the company's stock worth $2,813,000 after acquiring an additional 18,480 shares during the period. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 0.0 %

Archer-Daniels-Midland stock traded down $0.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,237,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,455,320. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52-week low of $44.92 and a 52-week high of $66.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.74.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. Archer-Daniels-Midland's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. 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. Archer-Daniels-Midland's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.89.

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.