Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Invests $402,000 in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SJM. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 5.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 4.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,790 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the third quarter valued at approximately $473,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the third quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 5.1% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SJM. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.13.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $112,322.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,942. The trade was a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock opened at $117.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $98.77 and a 52-week high of $127.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $106.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.79.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is -179.25%.

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.