Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $2,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the first quarter valued at $444,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1,317.9% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 4,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4,428 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 14.6% during the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 840,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,753,000 after purchasing an additional 107,211 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 156.3% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 37,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Down 0.3 %

ADM stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.45. The company had a trading volume of 11,726,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,361,535. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.75. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52-week low of $50.72 and a 52-week high of $87.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted 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 business had revenue of $21.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.26 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Archer-Daniels-Midland

In other Archer-Daniels-Midland news, insider Fruit Molly L. Strader sold 6,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.73, for a total transaction of $419,279.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,545.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADM has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.50.

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.