Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 990,812 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,577 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.21% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $50,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 300.8% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,598 shares of the company's stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 7,203 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 5,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,794,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,081,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company's stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of ADM stock traded up $0.41 on Monday, hitting $46.12. 3,382,066 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,699,266. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 5.44. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a one year low of $44.92 and a one year high of $66.08. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $50.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company's revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.53 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on ADM shares. Barclays cut their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens decreased their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.11.

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.