Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 37,997 Shares of Archer Daniels Midland Company $ADM

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its stake in Archer Daniels Midland by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 37,997 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 647,299 shares worth about $37.2 million.
• Archer Daniels Midland reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, posting EPS of $0.71 versus estimates of $0.66, though revenue came in below consensus at $20.49 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, payable June 10, which works out to an annualized dividend of $2.08 and a yield of 2.7%.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 647,299 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,997 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Archer Daniels Midland worth $37,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Archer Daniels Midland by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 50,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its stake in Archer Daniels Midland by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 14,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co boosted its holdings in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 14,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Archer Daniels Midland during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,207,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Archer Daniels Midland during the 4th quarter valued at about $283,000. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Archer Daniels Midland Stock Performance

ADM opened at $77.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $37.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.84 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50 day moving average is $70.72 and its 200 day moving average is $65.09. Archer Daniels Midland Company has a 12-month low of $46.81 and a 12-month high of $81.75.

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $20.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.35 billion. Archer Daniels Midland had a net margin of 1.34% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The firm's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Archer Daniels Midland has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Archer Daniels Midland Company will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Archer Daniels Midland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Archer Daniels Midland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer L. Weber sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.04, for a total value of $1,676,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 123,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,290,702.72. This trade represents a 16.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Ian R. Pinner sold 34,106 shares of Archer Daniels Midland stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.53, for a total transaction of $2,439,602.18. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 90,676 shares in the company, valued at $6,486,054.28. This represents a 27.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,106 shares of company stock valued at $7,539,602. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Archer Daniels Midland from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Archer Daniels Midland from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Archer Daniels Midland from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Archer Daniels Midland from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Archer Daniels Midland from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Archer Daniels Midland presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.50.

About Archer Daniels Midland

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is a global agricultural processor and food-ingredient provider that sources, transports and processes oilseeds, corn, wheat and other agricultural commodities. The company operates large-scale crushing, refining and processing facilities that produce vegetable oils, protein meals, corn sweeteners, starches, ethanol, animal feeds and a wide range of food and industrial ingredients. ADM also develops specialty ingredients and solutions for human and animal nutrition, food and beverage formulation, and industrial applications such as bio-based materials and renewable fuels.

ADM's business combines commodity origination and merchandising with downstream manufacturing and ingredient formulation.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ADM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.