Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 79,181 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 108.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 152,223 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 79,181 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $19,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kinneret Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 3,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 8,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 2,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 4,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SJM. DA Davidson began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.47.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

NYSE SJM opened at $111.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $121.34 and its 200 day moving average is $120.70. 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 12 month low of $107.33 and a 12 month high of $159.92.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 14.29% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -481.81%.

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.