Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,959 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $2,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,169,000 after buying an additional 958,142 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 12.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,111,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $861,145,000 after acquiring an additional 762,746 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 186.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 805,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,195,000 after acquiring an additional 523,803 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 891.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 579,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,226,000 after purchasing an additional 521,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,354,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,749,000 after purchasing an additional 486,624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of SJM stock opened at $102.02 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $112.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.69. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1-year low of $100.77 and a 1-year high of $134.62.

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

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on SJM shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

J. M. Smucker 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.