Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 755,647 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,385 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.14% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $54,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 641 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company's stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of ADM traded down $2.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.66. 6,728,011 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,893,585. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a twelve month low of $50.72 and a twelve month high of $87.30. The stock has a market cap of $29.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 0.77.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ADM. TheStreet downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $90.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $96.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Archer-Daniels-Midland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $56.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Archer-Daniels-Midland currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.