Eastern Bank Buys New Shares in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Eastern Bank bought a new stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Boston Partners bought a new position in J. M. Smucker in the first quarter valued at $364,990,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 186.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 805,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,195,000 after buying an additional 523,803 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 56.0% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,354,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,749,000 after buying an additional 486,624 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the first quarter valued at about $48,207,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 29.0% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,457,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,518,000 after buying an additional 327,680 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

J. M. Smucker stock opened at $116.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.24. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $105.69 and a fifty-two week high of $134.62.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 8.77%. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SJM shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas raised J. M. Smucker to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.42.

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.