The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Shares Purchased by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 55.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,117 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,182 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 130,533 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,734,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,222,000 after acquiring an additional 380,309 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,609,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,664,000 after buying an additional 58,231 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,942,000 after acquiring an additional 418,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,361,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,082,000 after purchasing an additional 192,748 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

NYSE SJM opened at $114.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.25, a P/E/G 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. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12 month low of $98.77 and a 12 month high of $125.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.90.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -179.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SJM shares. TD Cowen lowered J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.67.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker 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.