J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Stock Price Up 5.4% – Here’s What Happened

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)’s stock price shot up 5.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $117.15 and last traded at $117.50. 387,162 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 1,197,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SJM shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on 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. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.13.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 5.2 %

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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.87. The firm has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Research analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is presently -179.25%.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $112,322.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 188.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1,329.4% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% 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.