AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 431,706 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100,750 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $46,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 71,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,007,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 41,400.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Tradition Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 170,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,554,000 after purchasing an additional 8,960 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SJM has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas raised J. M. Smucker to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.25.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock opened at $121.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The J. M. Smucker Company has a one year low of $105.69 and a one year high of $134.62. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.24.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 14.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.82 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a positive change from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.67%.

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.