Park Avenue Securities LLC Trims Stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 44.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,998 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,325 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ADM. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

NYSE ADM opened at $60.45 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.47. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.72 and a fifty-two week high of $87.30.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 3.32%. The business had revenue of $21.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ADM. Bank of America cut their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $66.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Fruit Molly L. Strader sold 6,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.73, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.