Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 13,799 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company $SJM

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company by 15.8%, now owning 101,300 shares worth approximately $11.99 million.
• Institutional investors currently own 81.66% of J. M. Smucker's stock, with several firms, including Wallace Capital Management and Tortoise Investment Management, recently increasing their stakes.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, raising its annualized dividend yield to 3.9% from the previous $1.08.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,300 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,799 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned about 0.10% of J. M. Smucker worth $11,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the company's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,116,804 shares of the company's stock worth $122,982,000 after purchasing an additional 156,314 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 40,229 shares of the company's stock worth $4,430,000 after purchasing an additional 5,407 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 357.9% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 41,891 shares of the company's stock worth $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 32,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 78,169 shares of the company's stock worth $8,608,000 after purchasing an additional 20,872 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Tarang Amin bought 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $96.09 per share, for a total transaction of $100,894.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $367,544.25. The trade was 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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on SJM shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $118.00.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.8%

SJM stock traded down $0.86 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $109.99. 1,009,480 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,242,865. The firm's 50 day moving average is $109.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 0.27. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1 year low of $93.30 and a 1 year high of $125.42.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.05). J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 16.75% and a positive return on equity of 15.41%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. J. M. Smucker has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.500-9.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from J. M. Smucker's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -32.09%.

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.