Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 50,803 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,352 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $2,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.8% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 20,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.4% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.1% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 5,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $51.26 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $48.40 and a one year high of $69.85. 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 capitalization of $24.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. 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 permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ADM. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 reduced their target price 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. Bank of America cut Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $63.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.08.

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.