Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 11,339 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 324,381 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,339 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $35,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 8,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 2,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SJM shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.78.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $104.38 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $108.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.25. 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 company has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.27. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $99.81 and a 52-week high of $130.79.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is 87.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $112,322.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,116,942. This trade represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.