Candriam S.C.A. Buys 1,041 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,149 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SJM. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 188.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 period. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $112,322.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,942. The trade was a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on SJM. 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. TD Cowen lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.13.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock opened at $117.29 on Monday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12 month low of $98.77 and a 12 month high of $127.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.82.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. On average, research analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -179.25%.

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.