Natixis Advisors L.P. Purchases 67,654 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 340.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,518 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,654 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $11,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $464,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 15.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 277,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,103,000 after purchasing an additional 36,296 shares during the last quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $11,147,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 238,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,085,000 after purchasing an additional 87,682 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the third quarter worth about $5,522,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

NYSE SJM opened at $112.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -128.34, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.78. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $107.33 and a fifty-two week high of $159.45.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 14.29% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. J. M. Smucker’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -481.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SJM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays increased their price target on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.47.

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.