Two Sigma Investments LP Increases Stock Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 797,064 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 129,870 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.75% of J. M. Smucker worth $87,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 188.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on SJM shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 price target for the company. UBS Group started coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

NYSE SJM opened at $113.46 on Tuesday. 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 J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $98.77 and a fifty-two week high of $125.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $114.07 and a 200-day moving average of $111.26. The stock has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. As a group, analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.08 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -179.25%.

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.