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

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,421 shares of the company’s stock after selling 470 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $1,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SJM. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 5,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was 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 directly owns 18,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SJM opened at $109.32 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $106.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $98.77 and a 52 week high of $127.59.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. Analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently -179.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen cut J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.13.

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.