Gries Financial LLC Takes $1.81 Million Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Gries Financial LLC acquired a new position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SJM. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 113.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 124.8% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 13,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, Director Tarang Amin bought 1,050 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $96.09 per share, for a total transaction of $100,894.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $367,544.25. The trade was a 37.84% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $118.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $119.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $134.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.33.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 3.0%

NYSE:SJM opened at $105.60 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1-year low of $93.30 and a 1-year high of $125.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $105.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.25, a PEG ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 0.31.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.06. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 15.20% and a negative net margin of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This is an increase from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently -37.37%.

J. M. Smucker Company 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.