Virtu Financial LLC Boosts Position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 107.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,015 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,598 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $1,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 653.3% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 117,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,928,000 after purchasing an additional 101,770 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Kiker Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth approximately $544,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $614,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 300,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,201,000 after purchasing an additional 11,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ADM opened at $46.21 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.64. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a twelve month low of $44.92 and a twelve month high of $66.08. The company has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stephens reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.63.

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.