UBS Group AG Acquires 2,765,559 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company $SJM

Key Points

• UBS Group AG boosted its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company by 238.7%, buying an additional 2,765,559 shares to hold 3,924,282 shares (about 3.68%) valued at roughly $383.8 million.
• Smucker topped quarterly EPS estimates with $2.38 on $2.34 billion in revenue (up 7% year-over-year) and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.10 (annualized $4.40, ~4.6% yield).
• Analyst views are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $117.25, though Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded to Outperform with a $145 target while several firms have lowered theirs.

UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 238.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,924,282 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,765,559 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned 3.68% of J. M. Smucker worth $383,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded J. M. Smucker from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $118.00 to $104.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $125.00 target price on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.25.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SJM opened at $95.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.27. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1 year low of $88.25 and a 1 year high of $119.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $101.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.50.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 15.94% and a negative net margin of 14.07%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio is currently -37.32%.

J. M. Smucker Profile

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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