Jennifer Weber, a senior vice president at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), recently picked up 5,905 shares. The buy increased her stake by nearly 8 percent, and came to a total purchase price of just under $298,000.
This marks the first insider buy since last September. Insiders are typically sellers of shares, even as prices of the agricultural giant have been trending higher. Overall, insiders own just under 0.4 percent of the company.
Concerns of food supply disruption and inflation have led to a 78 percent rally in shares in the past year—just outpacing the S&P 500 Index off of last year’s lows. While profit margins are low, revenues rose by over one-third in the past year.
Action to take: Investors may like shares here. The company has a history of raising its dividend, and bumped up its annual payment from $1.44 to $1.48, for a 2.5 percent yield right now.
While company insiders have a mixed track record, we see trends in the agricultural space continuing to push shares higher. Shares are up by nearly 15 percent so far this year, and likely will continue with that trend.
That makes the September $60 calls, last trading for about $3.50, an attractive bet on a move higher. It’s the at-the-money trade, and has about six months to continue playing out. Traders can likely nab mid-to-high double-digit profits.