GAMMA Investing LLC Buys New Shares in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 1,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SJM. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 487.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,459,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210,837 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 363.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,274,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,258,000 after acquiring an additional 999,315 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 12,722.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 334,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,214,000 after acquiring an additional 331,417 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 32.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 646,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,501,000 after acquiring an additional 157,443 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 9.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,777,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,503,000 after acquiring an additional 151,389 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total transaction of $399,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SJM. Barclays lifted their target price on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.47.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $113.60 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $120.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1-year low of $107.33 and a 1-year high of $159.92.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.21. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 14.29% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

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

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.