Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 32,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,333,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 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 bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $60.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.77. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52-week low of $50.72 and a 52-week high of $87.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.81.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $22.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.79 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 3.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is 31.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ADM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $66.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $56.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $67.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.50.

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.