Two Sigma Advisers LP Raises Stock Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 76.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,078,892 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 468,200 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 1.01% of J. M. Smucker worth $118,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 797,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,773,000 after purchasing an additional 129,870 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 56,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,273,000 after purchasing an additional 12,207 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC now owns 3,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at $4,605,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at $851,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 0.5%

J. M. Smucker stock traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $111.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,115,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,165,548. The firm has a market cap of $11.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1 year low of $98.77 and a 1 year high of $125.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.30.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio is currently -179.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SJM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $128.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $125.70.

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.