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

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $878,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ADM. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Archer-Daniels-Midland

In other news, insider Fruit Molly L. Strader sold 6,904 shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.73, for a total value of $419,279.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,545.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 2.0 %

ADM stock traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,623,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,384,427. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $29.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.25. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52-week low of $50.72 and a 52-week high of $87.30.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company had revenue of $21.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s quarterly revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is currently 35.09%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.