Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $9.93 Million Stock Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 264.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 78,578 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,030 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $9,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 487.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,459,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210,837 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 363.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,274,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,258,000 after acquiring an additional 999,315 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 12,722.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 334,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,214,000 after purchasing an additional 331,417 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 32.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 646,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,501,000 after acquiring an additional 157,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 9.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,777,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,503,000 after buying an additional 151,389 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total transaction of $399,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,192.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SJM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.47.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

NYSE:SJM opened at $117.72 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of -133.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The J. M. Smucker Company has a twelve month low of $107.33 and a twelve month high of $159.92.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.21. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 14.29% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently -481.81%.

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.