Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 32,163 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 368,322 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,163 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $40,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in J. M. Smucker by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Mendel Money Management grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 3,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Code Waechter LLC raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 5,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SJM opened at $116.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1-year low of $98.77 and a 1-year high of $125.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $108.21 and a 200 day moving average of $112.25. The firm has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28.

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

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -179.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SJM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson reduced their target price on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.67.

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.