Sapient Capital LLC Takes Position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter worth about $266,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 90.1% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 12,735 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,557,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,698,000 after purchasing an additional 162,145 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 19,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of ADM stock opened at $60.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $29.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.51. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.72 and a fifty-two week high of $87.30.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $21.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.26 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 3.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.09%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TheStreet lowered Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $66.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.50.

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.