GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases New Shares in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 9.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,777,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,503,000 after purchasing an additional 151,389 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 487.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,459,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210,837 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 2.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,457,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,170,000 after buying an additional 29,728 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 363.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,274,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,258,000 after buying an additional 999,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 6.5% during the third quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 659,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,109,000 after buying an additional 40,308 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SJM. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.47.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SJM opened at $113.60 on Friday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12 month low of $107.33 and a 12 month high of $159.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $120.10 and a 200 day moving average of $120.62.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business 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 earnings per share. J. M. Smucker’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently -481.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total transaction of $399,264.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.50% 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.