Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in The J. M. Smucker Company $SJM

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its J. M. Smucker stake by 15.6% in the first quarter, adding 528,418 shares to bring its total to 3.92 million shares worth about $378.1 million.
• J. M. Smucker beat quarterly expectations, posting $2.77 EPS versus $2.64 expected and revenue of $2.27 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend from $1.10 to $1.12 per share.
• Insiders sold shares recently, including the CFO and another executive, with total insider sales of 18,533 shares over the last 90 days; meanwhile, analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with a $121.13 price target.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 15.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,920,718 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 528,418 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 3.68% of J. M. Smucker worth $378,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 68.1% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SJM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore started coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Friday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $117.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $103.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.13.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 4,353 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.08, for a total transaction of $500,943.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,835 shares in the company, valued at $1,937,371.80. This represents a 20.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 3,630 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.05, for a total value of $403,111.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 38,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,297,523.95. This represents a 8.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 18,533 shares of company stock valued at $2,132,914 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SJM opened at $115.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -88.95, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.26. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $108.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.34. The J. M. Smucker Company has a one year low of $88.25 and a one year high of $119.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.78.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.13. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 1.53% and a positive return on equity of 17.18%. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. J. M. Smucker has set its FY 2027 guidance at 9.750-10.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from J. M. Smucker's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -344.62%.

About J. M. Smucker

The J. M. Smucker Company is a diversified food and beverage manufacturer and marketer known for a portfolio of well-established consumer brands. The company's main business activities include the production and distribution of fruit spreads, peanut butter, coffee and coffee filters, as well as pet food and pet snacks. Smucker's core product lines serve both retail and foodservice customers through grocery chains, mass merchandisers, club stores, convenience outlets and e-commerce channels.

Among its leading brands are Smucker's® fruit spreads, Jif® peanut butter, Folgers® and Dunkin'® coffees, and Café Bustelo® coffee.

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