Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Acquires Shares of 538 The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at about $641,000. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 1,365.5% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at about $888,000. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 41,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 14,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

SJM opened at $109.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $98.77 and a fifty-two week high of $127.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $107.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -179.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Barclays cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.