West Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

West Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,201 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 724.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ADM shares. Stephens assumed coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Archer-Daniels-Midland presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

ADM stock opened at $51.15 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.02. The firm has a market cap of $24.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.40. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1 year low of $48.40 and a 1 year high of $69.85.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.