Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. Acquires 1,878 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. boosted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,555 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares during the quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $3,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ADM. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $68,011,000 after buying an additional 68,133 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings 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 worth $105,163,000 after acquiring an additional 489,217 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter valued at $2,339,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.4% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.5% during the third quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd now owns 303,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,110,000 after purchasing an additional 13,177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

ADM stock opened at $51.23 on Friday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 1 year low of $48.40 and a 1 year high of $68.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.72.

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

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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ADM. Bank of America downgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 target on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.08.

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.