AE Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Key Points

• AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company by 13.8% during the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 32,736, valued at approximately $3.88 million.
• J. M. Smucker recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.10, which reflects a yield of 4.03%, up from the previous quarterly dividend of $1.08.
• Analyst ratings for J. M. Smucker are mixed, with six analysts recommending a hold, seven a buy, and one a strong buy, while the company has a consensus target price of $117.33.

AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 13.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,736 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,967 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC's holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $3,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SJM. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,774 shares of the company's stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 1st quarter worth about $84,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 54,023 shares of the company's stock worth $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 126,555 shares of the company's stock worth $14,985,000 after acquiring an additional 13,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Obermeyer Wealth Partners bought a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 1st quarter worth about $204,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SJM. Bank of America cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $118.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded J. M. Smucker from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded J. M. Smucker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.33.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

J. M. Smucker stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $109.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,840,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,094,272. The company has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.44, a P/E/G ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.31. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $93.30 and a 12-month high of $125.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $104.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.06. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 14.10% and a positive return on equity of 15.20%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from J. M. Smucker's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -37.37%.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other news, Director Tarang Amin purchased 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $96.09 per share, for a total transaction of $100,894.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $367,544.25. This trade represents a 37.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.