Foster & Motley Inc. Sells 3,613 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Foster & Motley Inc. decreased its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 12.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,613 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $2,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,471,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,515,000 after buying an additional 518,433 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the 1st quarter valued at about $364,990,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,688,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,441,000 after acquiring an additional 202,092 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,457,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,518,000 after acquiring an additional 327,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,077,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SJM shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Argus dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.25.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SJM opened at $121.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.55. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $105.69 and a 52-week high of $143.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $116.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.51.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 8.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. This is a positive change from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.67%.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In related news, CEO Mark T. Smucker sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.16, for a total transaction of $1,101,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,675,871.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker 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.