KBC Group NV Cuts Stock Position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) by 48.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,822 shares of the company's stock after selling 283,992 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.06% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $15,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.4% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,138,455 shares of the company's stock worth $68,011,000 after acquiring an additional 68,133 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $2,339,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,082,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,163,000 after purchasing an additional 489,217 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,086,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $483,084,000 after buying an additional 489,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.5% during the third quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd now owns 303,155 shares of the company's stock worth $18,110,000 after buying an additional 13,177 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.89.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:ADM traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,847,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,607,301. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a twelve month low of $48.40 and a twelve month high of $66.08. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $51.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.04. 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 stock has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Archer-Daniels-Midland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

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.