Advisors Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 32.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,302 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,518 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $1,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1,329.4% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 212.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

J. M. Smucker stock opened at $113.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $116.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.55. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1 year low of $105.69 and a 1 year high of $134.62.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.27. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 14.22%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is currently 61.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SJM. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America cut their price target on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays decreased their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.09.

About J. M. Smucker

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.