N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC Buys Shares of 254 The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 15.4% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 108,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,865,000 after purchasing an additional 14,497 shares during the period. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 45.3% in the first quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 8.1% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 43,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 3,283 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 5.9% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 16.5% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

NYSE SJM opened at $107.24 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $93.30 and a 12-month high of $125.42. The firm has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.28, a PEG ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 0.31.

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

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is an increase from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -38.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $134.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $118.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other news, Director Tarang Amin bought 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was bought 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. This trade represents a 37.84% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.24% of the company’s stock.

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.