Westpac Banking Corp Lowers Stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) by 92.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 531 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,410 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,715,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $590,305,000 after purchasing an additional 247,647 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 329,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,643,000 after purchasing an additional 3,134 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 294,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,871,000 after purchasing an additional 14,966 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter worth $760,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,152,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,068,626,000 after buying an additional 1,722,428 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland stock traded down $0.46 on Thursday, reaching $43.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,767,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,627,549. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52 week low of $40.98 and a 52 week high of $66.08. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $46.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.17. The company has a market capitalization of $21.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. Archer-Daniels-Midland's payout ratio is presently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on ADM shares. Stephens lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Bank of America decreased 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 research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.63.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company 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.