UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Grows Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,059 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,408 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $1,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,111,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $861,145,000 after buying an additional 762,746 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,988,000. Amundi raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 628,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,250,000 after purchasing an additional 207,477 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,361,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,082,000 after purchasing an additional 192,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,344,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,544,000 after purchasing an additional 130,533 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

NYSE:SJM opened at $116.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $98.77 and a 52 week high of $125.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $108.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.17.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Equities analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -179.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SJM. TD Cowen downgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on 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. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.