Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stock Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 7.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,415 shares of the company’s stock after selling 586 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SJM. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 553.9% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 8,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 7,517 shares in the last quarter. Natixis raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 49.8% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 11,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 3,748 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 1st quarter worth about $362,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 1st quarter worth about $428,000. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 868,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,302,000 after acquiring an additional 321,049 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of SJM stock opened at $111.91 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $116.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.55. The J. M. Smucker Company has a twelve month low of $105.69 and a twelve month high of $134.62. The company has a market capitalization of $11.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.27. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 8.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.8 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SJM. BNP Paribas raised J. M. Smucker to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Barclays dropped their price target on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.09.

J. M. Smucker 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.