North Star Asset Management Inc. Invests $215,000 in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SJM. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2,266.7% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 171.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup decreased their price target on J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reduced 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 research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.47.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

NYSE SJM opened at $117.46 on Tuesday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $107.33 and a 52-week high of $159.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $120.83 and a 200-day moving average of $120.66. The company has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -133.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -481.81%.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total transaction 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

About J. M. Smucker

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.