BTS Asset Management Inc. Invests $459,000 in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

BTS Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,000. J. M. Smucker comprises 0.5% of BTS Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SJM. Probity Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.1% in the third quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 8,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 0.5% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 19,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 3.5% during the third quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 2,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on SJM shares. StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen lowered J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $112,322.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock opened at $102.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.28. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12 month low of $99.81 and a 12 month high of $134.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.38.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. J. M. Smucker’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is 87.45%.

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.