The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Shares Sold by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM – Get Rating) by 55.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,937 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 12,044.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,253,000 after buying an additional 23,487 shares in the last quarter. Mane Global Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,855,000. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 13,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,897,000 after buying an additional 2,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. 79.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

J. M. Smucker stock opened at $150.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $151.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.04. The company has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.21. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $119.82 and a fifty-two week high of $163.07.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 28th. The company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.08. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 8.54%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SJM shares. Morgan Stanley raised J. M. Smucker from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. UBS Group raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Friday, February 10th. BNP Paribas started coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Tuesday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Exane BNP Paribas started coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Tuesday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $123.00 price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, November 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.70.

About J. M. Smucker

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The J. M. Smucker Co engages in the manufacture and marketing of food and beverage products. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Retail Coffee, U.S. Retail Consumer Foods, U.S. Retail Pet Foods, and International and Away From Home. The U. S. Retail Coffee segment includes domestic sales of Folgers, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Café Bustelo branded coffee.