Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Raises Stock Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,002 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,782 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.13% of J. M. Smucker worth $15,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 5,023 shares of the company's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 475 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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J. M. Smucker Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SJM traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.11. 149,926 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,172,742. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.15. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $98.77 and a 52-week high of $125.42.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. Equities research analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -179.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. This trade represents a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SJM. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Profile

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients.