Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 726,108 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 98,531 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.15% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $36,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ADM. Bank of America raised Archer-Daniels-Midland from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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 cut their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.75.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.24. The stock had a trading volume of 2,261,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,620,453. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a twelve month low of $40.98 and a twelve month high of $66.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50 day moving average is $46.86 and its 200 day moving average is $50.19.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.77 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 2.10%. Archer-Daniels-Midland's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Archer-Daniels-Midland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland's payout ratio is presently 56.51%.

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.