Kentucky Trust Co Invests $28,000 in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $112,322.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.5 %

SJM opened at $103.86 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.18. 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 twelve month low of $99.81 and a twelve month high of $130.79. The firm has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.27.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is 87.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.78.

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.