J.M. Smucker Company (The) (SJM) Price Target Cut to $108.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

J.M. Smucker Company (The) (NYSE:SJM) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $114.00 to $108.00 in a research report report published on Friday. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

SJM has been the topic of several other reports. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of J.M. Smucker Company (The) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. Jefferies Group LLC upgraded shares of J.M. Smucker Company (The) from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $120.00 target price (down from $126.00) on shares of J.M. Smucker Company (The) in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Citigroup Inc. lowered their target price on shares of J.M. Smucker Company (The) from $161.00 to $155.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. Finally, Hilliard Lyons upgraded shares of J.M. Smucker Company (The) from a neutral rating to a long-term buy rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $126.73.

Shares of J.M. Smucker Company (SJM) traded down 2.20% during trading on Friday, hitting $105.15. The stock had a trading volume of 2,441,067 shares. J.M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $105.04 and a 12-month high of $143.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $119.18 and its 200-day moving average is $127.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 0.62.

J.M. Smucker Company (The) (NYSE:SJM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.10. J.M. Smucker Company (The) had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 7.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that J.M. Smucker Company will post $7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 9th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. This is a boost from J.M. Smucker Company (The)’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. J.M. Smucker Company (The)’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.55%.

In other news, insider Barry C. Dunaway sold 9,433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.32, for a total transaction of $1,144,411.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 40,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,969,995.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sandra Pianalto acquired 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $120.61 per share, for a total transaction of $30,152.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,152.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,030 shares of company stock worth $1,948,195. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sun Life Financial INC boosted its position in shares of J.M. Smucker Company (The) by 10,512.5% in the second quarter. Sun Life Financial INC now owns 849 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.M. Smucker Company (The) during the first quarter worth approximately $126,000. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of J.M. Smucker Company (The) by 4.5% in the second quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. BT Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of J.M. Smucker Company (The) during the second quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Allegis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.M. Smucker Company (The) during the second quarter worth approximately $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.09% of the company’s stock.

J.M. Smucker Company (The) Company Profile

The J. M. Smucker Company is a manufacturer and marketer of branded food and beverage products and pet food and pet snacks in North America. The Company’s segments include U.S. Retail Coffee, U.S. Retail Consumer Foods, U.S. Retail Pet Foods, and International and Foodservice. The Company’s U.S. retail market segments consist of the sale of branded food products to consumers through retail outlets in North America.