Archer Daniels Midland surprises with big 2024 dividend hike

Dividend Aristocrat Archer-Daniels-Midland Co (ADM) will increase its dividend by 11.1% in 2024, marking 49 consecutive years of dividend growth. This comes right after the stock price of the human and animal nutrition company dropped more than 20% in the wake of an accounting investigation.

On January 23, 2024, ADM's stock price dropped a whopping 24% after news that the company's CFO is placed on leave and that investigates accounting practices at its Nutrition segment. This was the biggest one day stock price drop since 1929. 

Since ADM is a Dividend Aristocrat announcing its annual dividend hikes in January, not many people expected the 11.1% dividend hike that was declared on January 26, 2024. The next dividend is payable on Feb. 29, 2024, to shareholders of record on Feb. 8, 2024. This is ADM’s 369th consecutive quarterly payment, a record of more than 92 years of uninterrupted dividends. 

ADM ANNUAL DIVIDEND HIKES

• 2024: +11.1%
• 2023: +12.5%
• 2022: +8.1%
• 2021: +2.8%
• 2020: +2.9%

The new annual dividend rate of $2.00 per share yields 3.9% to ADM shareholders at a stock price of $51.38. ADM has now raised the dividend 49 consecutive years, with a 12.5% dividend hike announced last year in 2023. This week many other Dividend Aristocrats dissappointed big time, including S&P Global (SPGI) and Air Products (APD, both announcing a 1.1% dividend hike, the smallest in decades.

Especially with these two mini dividend hikes in mind, the ADM dividend hike of 11.1% is a big one that will be appreciated by many dividend growth investors. In 2023 ADM was one of the worst performing Dividend Aristocrats despite the big 12.5% dividend hike.

Archer Daniels Midland Company is a producer of food and beverage ingredients, and other products made from oilseeds, corn, wheat, and other agricultural commodities. The company's products include natural flavors and colors, health and nutrition products, vegetable oil, corn sweeteners, flour, animal feed, and biofuels. Archer-Daniels-Midland was incorporated in Delaware in 1923, successor to the Daniels Linseed Co. founded in 1902.