AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 5,075 The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 188.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 1,365.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SJM opened at $116.84 on Friday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $98.77 and a 52-week high of $127.15. The company has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $107.93 and a 200-day moving average of $112.28.

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 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 business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -179.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SJM shares. DA Davidson cut their target price on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.67.

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.