Townsquare Capital LLC Boosts Stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 14.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,358 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 6,703.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 159,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,433,000 after buying an additional 157,523 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,043,000 after buying an additional 9,250 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 127,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,915,000 after buying an additional 15,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,169,000 after buying an additional 958,142 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SJM shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.56.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $116.46 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $116.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.71. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $105.69 and a 52-week high of $134.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.26.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. J. M. Smucker’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is currently 87.45%.

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.