Vest Financial LLC Buys 222,150 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,004,578 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 222,150 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $50,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ADM. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,272 shares of the company's stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.4% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 97,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,819,000 after buying an additional 3,182 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.3% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 12.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 28,341 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,693,000 after buying an additional 3,190 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.4% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of ADM stock traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.22. The company had a trading volume of 3,454,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,608,751. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52-week low of $45.01 and a 52-week high of $66.08. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $50.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.44 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $21.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. Archer-Daniels-Midland's revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. Archer-Daniels-Midland's payout ratio is 55.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Archer-Daniels-Midland presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.