Versant Capital Management Inc Grows Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 106.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 526 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $58,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 1.1% during the third quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 8,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 19,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 2,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 3.5% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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 a consensus price target of $128.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $112,322.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,942. This trade represents a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

NYSE SJM opened at $111.53 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $113.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.86. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1 year low of $105.69 and a 1 year high of $134.62. 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 company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.28.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is currently 87.45%.

J. M. Smucker Company 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.