Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,016 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ADM. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.4% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,138,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,011,000 after acquiring an additional 68,133 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,082,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,163,000 after purchasing an additional 489,217 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter valued at $2,339,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,086,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,084,000 after purchasing an additional 489,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd now owns 303,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,110,000 after acquiring an additional 13,177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $50.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.60. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12-month low of $48.40 and a 12-month high of $66.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.89.

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.