Analysts Set The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Target Price at $128.56

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $128.56.

A number of research firms have commented on SJM. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $112,322.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 40.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353,996 shares of the company's stock worth $406,169,000 after buying an additional 958,142 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the third quarter worth $3,266,000. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,565,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 20,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 7,662 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:SJM traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $111.37. 1,059,891 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,175,875. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. J. M. Smucker has a fifty-two week low of $105.69 and a fifty-two week high of $134.62. The company has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.81.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that J. M. Smucker will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio is presently 87.45%.

J. M. Smucker Company 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.