JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 31,745 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 703,971 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,745 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $85,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 88,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,676,000 after purchasing an additional 7,493 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the second quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 80.7% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 45,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,998,000 after buying an additional 20,201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $111.37 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.81. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12 month low of $105.69 and a 12 month high of $134.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.26.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is currently 87.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SJM shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $112,322.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,942. This trade represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.40% 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.