Bailard Inc. Trims Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Bailard Inc. cut its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $1,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $112.14 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $106.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.27. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. As a group, 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 disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -179.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SJM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen downgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.