Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 304 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,902 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SJM. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 54.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 81,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,813,000 after acquiring an additional 28,741 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.9% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,057,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 8.9% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 22,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,771,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter valued at $283,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 171.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SJM. Barclays raised their price target on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. DA Davidson began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of SJM stock opened at $113.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -128.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $118.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $107.33 and a 12-month high of $159.37.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.21. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 1.24% and a positive return on equity of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -481.81%.

J. M. Smucker Company 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.