Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $32.99 Million in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 299,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,988,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.28% of J. M. Smucker at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,344,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,469,544,000 after buying an additional 130,533 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,734,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $411,222,000 after acquiring an additional 380,309 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,609,952 shares of the company's stock worth $286,664,000 after acquiring an additional 58,231 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company's stock worth $265,942,000 after purchasing an additional 418,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,361,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,082,000 after purchasing an additional 192,748 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was 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 $1,022,390.44. The trade was a 36.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen lowered J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM traded up $1.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $116.39. 1,189,117 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,181,962. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $98.77 and a 12-month high of $125.42. 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 stock has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $111.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.78.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio is currently -179.25%.

About J. M. Smucker

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.