Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Archer Daniels Midland Call Options (NYSE:ADM)

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 60,742 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,290% compared to the average volume of 4,371 call options.

Archer Daniels Midland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ADM opened at $69.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.10. Archer Daniels Midland has a fifty-two week low of $40.98 and a fifty-two week high of $70.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 11.20 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.07. Archer Daniels Midland had a return on equity of 7.39% and a net margin of 1.34%.The business had revenue of $18.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Archer Daniels Midland has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-4.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Archer Daniels Midland will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer Daniels Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Archer Daniels Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Archer Daniels Midland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David R. Mcatee II acquired 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.90 per share, for a total transaction of $486,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 7,500 shares in the company, valued at $486,750. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ADM. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in Archer Daniels Midland during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 367.0% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 313.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Archer Daniels Midland during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC grew its holdings in Archer Daniels Midland by 113.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ADM. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Archer Daniels Midland from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $57.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Archer Daniels Midland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Archer Daniels Midland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $57.00.

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.