Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 79,181 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 108.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,223 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,181 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.14% of J. M. Smucker worth $19,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SJM. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 1.5% during the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 30,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,137,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 14,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after buying an additional 898 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 1.7% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 339,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,980,000 after buying an additional 5,531 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 1,012.2% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 192,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,085,000 after buying an additional 175,315 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,721,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,722,666,000 after buying an additional 162,944 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In related news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock opened at $111.10 on Friday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $107.33 and a 12-month high of $159.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.70.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 1.24% and a positive return on equity of 14.29%. J. M. Smucker’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently -481.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on SJM. Barclays increased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.47.

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.