Schroder Investment Management Group Buys 5,505 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 42.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,509 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,505 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $2,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 188.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1,365.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $115.03 on Monday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1 year low of $98.77 and a 1 year high of $125.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.09. The company has a market cap of $12.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is presently -179.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.67.

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 transaction of $594,902.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the company’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 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 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.