Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Acquires New Stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $851,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,344,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,544,000 after buying an additional 130,533 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,734,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,222,000 after purchasing an additional 380,309 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,609,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,664,000 after purchasing an additional 58,231 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,942,000 after buying an additional 418,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,009,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,232,000 after buying an additional 33,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of J. M. Smucker 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,022,390.44. The trade was a 36.78% 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SJM. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.50.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock opened at $112.57 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $114.03 and its 200 day moving average is $111.29. The stock has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1 year low of $98.77 and a 1 year high of $125.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -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.