Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Purchases New Shares in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP purchased a new stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SJM. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,777,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,503,000 after purchasing an additional 151,389 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 487.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,459,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210,837 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,457,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,170,000 after purchasing an additional 29,728 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 363.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,274,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,258,000 after purchasing an additional 999,315 shares during the period. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 659,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,109,000 after purchasing an additional 40,308 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SJM shares. StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. 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 note on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup cut their price target on J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total transaction of $399,264.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,192.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SJM traded up $0.85 on Wednesday, hitting $118.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,335,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,270,682. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.68. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1 year low of $107.33 and a 1 year high of $159.92. The company has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a PE ratio of -134.71, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

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

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -481.81%.

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.