Alliancebernstein L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 63.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 208,242 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 80,511 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $22,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SJM. 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 grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 6.6% in 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 lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 3,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Code Waechter LLC boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 5,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J. M. Smucker news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SJM shares. Barclays reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of SJM opened at $113.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $109.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.04. 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 fifty-two week low of $98.77 and a fifty-two week high of $125.42.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.