Ruffer LLP Trims Stock Position in Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP has reduced its stake in Archer Daniels Midland Company by 13.0%, selling 150,880 shares during the first quarter and now holds approximately 1.008 million shares worth about $48.43 million.
• Archer Daniels Midland reported a net margin of 1.63% and earnings per share (EPS) of $0.70, slightly surpassing analysts' expectations, despite a 7.7% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, representing an annualized payout of $2.04 and a yield of 3.8%, while currently having a payout ratio of approximately 72.86%.

Ruffer LLP lessened its stake in Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,008,738 shares of the company's stock after selling 150,880 shares during the period. Archer Daniels Midland accounts for approximately 1.9% of Ruffer LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Ruffer LLP owned approximately 0.21% of Archer Daniels Midland worth $48,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Silver Coast Investments LLC boosted its stake in Archer Daniels Midland by 24.5% in the first quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 6,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 14.2% during the first quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 13,631 shares of the company's stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its holdings in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 7.6% during the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 21,457 shares of the company's stock worth $1,030,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in shares of Archer Daniels Midland during the first quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Archer Daniels Midland during the first quarter worth about $394,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company's stock.

Archer Daniels Midland Price Performance

ADM stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.88. 1,378,037 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,978,872. The company has a market cap of $27.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.68. Archer Daniels Midland Company has a 52-week low of $40.98 and a 52-week high of $62.61. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $53.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. Archer Daniels Midland had a net margin of 1.33% and a return on equity of 8.43%. The company had revenue of $21.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Archer Daniels Midland Company will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer Daniels Midland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Archer Daniels Midland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ADM shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Archer Daniels Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays raised Archer Daniels Midland from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $61.00 in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Archer Daniels Midland from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Archer Daniels Midland from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.86.

Archer Daniels Midland 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.