Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 248,110 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company $SJM

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,257,127 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 248,110 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.12% of J. M. Smucker worth $267,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 8.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,623,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,620,000 after purchasing an additional 208,231 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,832,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,835,000 after purchasing an additional 201,576 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,627,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,186,000 after buying an additional 89,448 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in J. M. Smucker by 48.4% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,379,320 shares of the company's stock worth $163,325,000 after buying an additional 449,920 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in J. M. Smucker by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,213,312 shares of the company's stock worth $143,668,000 after buying an additional 96,508 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Tarang Amin acquired 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $96.09 per share, with a total value of $100,894.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,825 shares in the company, 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 through this link. Company insiders own 2.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SJM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $118.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up previously from $123.00) on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Friday, June 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $134.00 to $129.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $119.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $118.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.67.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE SJM opened at $110.56 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.78 billion, a PE ratio of -9.56, a PEG ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.31. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $93.30 and a fifty-two week high of $125.42. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 15.20% and a negative net margin of 14.10%. J. M. Smucker's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a boost from J. M. Smucker's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. J. M. Smucker's payout ratio is presently -38.06%.

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.

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