Vest Financial LLC Increases Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 484,952 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 71,140 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.46% of J. M. Smucker worth $53,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1,329.4% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of SJM stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $103.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,333,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,006,754. The company has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.27. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $99.81 and a 52 week high of $130.79. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $107.78 and a 200-day moving average of $114.18.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker's payout ratio is currently 87.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SJM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen downgraded J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $126.78.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $112,322.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,942. The trade was a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

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.