Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Acquires New Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $173,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 188.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SJM shares. UBS Group began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,390.44. The trade was a 36.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of SJM stock opened at $113.53 on Friday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1-year low of $98.77 and a 1-year high of $125.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.27.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -179.25%.

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.