Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $12.47 Million in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 113,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,466,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SJM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,344,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,544,000 after purchasing an additional 130,533 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,734,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,222,000 after buying an additional 380,309 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,609,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,664,000 after buying an additional 58,231 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,942,000 after acquiring an additional 418,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,009,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,232,000 after acquiring an additional 33,758 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SJM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.70.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE SJM opened at $112.51 on Friday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $98.77 and a 52 week high of $125.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. As a group, research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is presently -179.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,390.44. This 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 owned by company insiders.

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.