Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,278 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 0.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 659,676 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,278 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $39,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,045,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,914,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,256 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,430,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,160,755,000 after buying an additional 5,702,451 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,086,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,084,000 after acquiring an additional 489,554 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,979,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007,494 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,607,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,533,000 after purchasing an additional 63,883 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.62.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

NYSE ADM opened at $50.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.40 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 52-week low of $48.92 and a 52-week high of $74.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.79 and a 200-day moving average of $58.26.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.