Waverly Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 324,381 shares of the company's stock worth $35,721,000 after purchasing an additional 11,339 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 88.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,465 shares of the company's stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 5,395 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 285.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,304 shares of the company's stock worth $2,786,000 after purchasing an additional 18,739 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the company's stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 15,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,680,000 after buying an additional 3,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SJM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson dropped their price target on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen raised J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $125.70.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of SJM stock traded down $2.99 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,247,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,949. The stock has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a PEG 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 52-week low of $98.77 and a 52-week high of $125.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.20.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. Research analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio is -179.25%.

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.