Diversified Trust Co Grows Stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,882 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,471,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,515,000 after acquiring an additional 518,433 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the first quarter worth about $364,990,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,688,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,441,000 after purchasing an additional 202,092 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 29.0% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,457,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,518,000 after purchasing an additional 327,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth about $157,077,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J. M. Smucker news, CEO Mark T. Smucker sold 10,000 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.16, for a total value of $1,101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,757 shares in the company, valued at $8,675,871.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of SJM traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $119.31. 50,802 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,238,630. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12 month low of $105.69 and a 12 month high of $147.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $114.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.52.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 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. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SJM. TD Cowen decreased their price target on J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $132.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $132.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.64.

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.