Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Boosts Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 87,501 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,990 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $9,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 188.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 1,365.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen cut J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 1.9 %

SJM stock opened at $111.76 on Tuesday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $98.77 and a 12-month high of $127.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $107.19 and its 200 day moving average is $112.29. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -179.25%.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

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.