First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Raises Stock Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 20.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,855 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 824 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Financial LLC bought a new position in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth about $1,322,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 17,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after buying an additional 711 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 23,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of SJM opened at $113.11 on Monday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1-year low of $107.33 and a 1-year high of $159.45. The stock has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of -128.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.23. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $118.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.71.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is currently -481.81%.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,192.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SJM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on 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. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.