Lazard Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company $SJM

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 175,759 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,501 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $16,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SJM. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 238.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,924,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,834,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765,559 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 15.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,920,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,102,000 after purchasing an additional 528,418 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,783,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,232,000 after purchasing an additional 151,872 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,486,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,214,000 after purchasing an additional 357,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 6,854.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,527,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505,991 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock opened at $126.57 on Thursday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $88.25 and a 12-month high of $127.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $13.50 billion, a PE ratio of -97.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $111.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.36.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 9th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 17.18% and a negative net margin of 1.53%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. J. M. Smucker has set its FY 2027 guidance at 9.750-10.250 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a boost from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently -338.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SJM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane set a $125.00 target price on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $115.00 price objective on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 3,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.05, for a total value of $403,111.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 38,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,297,523.95. This represents a 8.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 4,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.08, for a total value of $500,943.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,937,371.80. This represents a 20.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,533 shares of company stock worth $2,132,914. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About J. M. Smucker

The J. M. Smucker Company is a diversified food and beverage manufacturer and marketer known for a portfolio of well-established consumer brands. The company’s main business activities include the production and distribution of fruit spreads, peanut butter, coffee and coffee filters, as well as pet food and pet snacks. Smucker’s core product lines serve both retail and foodservice customers through grocery chains, mass merchandisers, club stores, convenience outlets and e-commerce channels.

Among its leading brands are Smucker’s® fruit spreads, Jif® peanut butter, Folgers® and Dunkin’® coffees, and Café Bustelo® coffee.