EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $226,000 Investment in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in 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 buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in J. M. Smucker during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SJM. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.56.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

NYSE:SJM opened at $113.53 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.68 and its 200-day moving average is $115.90. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $105.69 and a 52-week high of $134.62. The company has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.26.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.45%.

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.