Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) by 37.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,695 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,324 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.'s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $3,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ADM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company's stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ADM traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $46.12. 3,382,066 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,699,266. The company has a current ratio of 5.44, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business's fifty day moving average price is $50.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.73. The company has a market cap of $22.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 0.72. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12-month low of $44.92 and a 12-month high of $66.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. This is a positive change 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 55.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ADM. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.11.

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.