Man Group plc Has $18.01 Million Stock Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Man Group plc grew its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 435.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,555 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 133,011 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $18,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,344,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,469,544,000 after purchasing an additional 130,533 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,734,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,222,000 after purchasing an additional 380,309 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 58,231 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 valued at $265,942,000 after purchasing an additional 418,878 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted 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 valued at $221,232,000 after purchasing an additional 33,758 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SJM. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.50.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

SJM stock opened at $113.53 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $114.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.29. The stock has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1 year low of $98.77 and a 1 year high of $125.42.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. Equities analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -179.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value 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 trade represents a 36.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were 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 owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.