Bank of America Lowers J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Price Target to $105.00

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) had its price objective decreased by Bank of America from $118.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.80.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

J. M. Smucker stock opened at $95.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. J. M. Smucker has a one year low of $93.93 and a one year high of $125.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.71.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. J. M. Smucker’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is currently -37.37%.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In related news, Director Tarang Amin acquired 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $96.09 per share, with a total value of $100,894.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $367,544.25. This trade represents a 37.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of J. M. Smucker 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 188.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 87.0% during the first quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.