The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Shares Sold by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 61.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,779 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SJM. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 1,329.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 212.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $112,322.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SJM. TD Cowen downgraded J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.78.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of SJM stock opened at $106.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $109.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.96. The J. M. Smucker Company has a one year low of $99.81 and a one year high of $134.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.45%.

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.