Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 115,703 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. has reduced its stake in J. M. Smucker Company by 66.9%, selling 115,703 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with around 57,157 shares valued at approximately $6.77 million.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, representing a yield of 4.03%, which is an increase from the previous dividend of $1.08.
• In recent analyst reports, J. M. Smucker received multiple upgrades, with price targets now ranging from $115.00 to $124.00, reflecting optimism among analysts about the company’s future performance.

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 66.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,157 shares of the company's stock after selling 115,703 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.05% of J. M. Smucker worth $6,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 113.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 124.8% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 13,355 shares of the company's stock worth $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,414 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,117 shares of the company's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 20,968 shares of the company's stock worth $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Tarang Amin acquired 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $96.09 per share, with a total value of $100,894.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at $367,544.25. The trade was a 37.84% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.24% of the company's stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $109.11. 1,840,887 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,094,272. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $93.30 and a 12-month high of $125.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.44, a PEG ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.06. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 15.20% and a negative net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. 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 -37.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SJM. BNP Paribas upgraded J. M. Smucker from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded J. M. Smucker from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on J. M. Smucker from $134.00 to $129.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on J. M. Smucker from $128.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.33.

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.