Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 79,230 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 445,589 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 79,230 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.09% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $22,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 15,790.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,596,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $459,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,549,083 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,430,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,160,755,000 after purchasing an additional 5,702,451 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 73.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,830,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $170,960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,992 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,045,672 shares of the company's stock worth $1,914,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,979,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,757,000 after buying an additional 1,007,494 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ADM. Citigroup raised their target price 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. Stephens began coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America cut shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ADM traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $51.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,234,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,508,151. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.75 and a 200-day moving average of $56.94. 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 has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.72. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12 month low of $48.40 and a 12 month high of $68.85.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Archer-Daniels-Midland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

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