Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 2,545 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162,556 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,545 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $17,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SJM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at about $112,978,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3,599.5% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 929,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,346,000 after acquiring an additional 904,278 shares during the period. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 925,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,861,000 after acquiring an additional 432,500 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,942,000 after acquiring an additional 418,878 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 11.3% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SJM shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $134.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.50.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents 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 currently owned by company insiders.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:SJM opened at $111.49 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.32. The firm has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58. 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) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -179.25%.

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.