Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP Buys New Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 382,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,207,000. J. M. Smucker accounts for approximately 4.7% of Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP owned about 0.36% of J. M. Smucker at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $157,077,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 21,858.1% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 680,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,027,000 after purchasing an additional 677,600 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,471,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,515,000 after purchasing an additional 518,433 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 12,722.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 334,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,214,000 after purchasing an additional 331,417 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,457,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,518,000 after purchasing an additional 327,680 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on J. M. Smucker from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Argus reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $132.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.64.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In related news, CEO Mark T. Smucker sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.16, for a total transaction of $1,101,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,675,871.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $118.96. 1,119,699 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,237,950. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.25. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $105.69 and a 52 week high of $153.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.35.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 6th. The company reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.34. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 9.10%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. J. M. Smucker’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. This is a boost from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.55%.

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.