Intact Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Intact Investment Management Inc. bought 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 institutional investor bought 22,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,844,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SJM. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the third quarter worth about $464,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 15.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 277,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,103,000 after purchasing an additional 36,296 shares during the period. Ardevora Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,147,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 58.3% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 238,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,085,000 after purchasing an additional 87,682 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,522,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SJM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.47.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In related news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,192.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock traded down $1.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $113.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,359,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,196,564. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $120.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.65. The firm has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a PE ratio of -129.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.21. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $107.33 and a fifty-two week high of $159.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.21. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 1.24% and a positive return on equity of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -481.81%.

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.