Physicians Financial Services Inc. Sells 2,625 Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 34.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,625 shares during the quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ADM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of ADM stock opened at $46.55 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.42. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12 month low of $44.92 and a 12 month high of $66.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 5.44, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 2.10%. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. This is a positive change from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.11.

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.