The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Holdings Lowered by Brave Asset Management Inc.

Brave Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,705 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Brave Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 40.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,169,000 after acquiring an additional 958,142 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,111,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,145,000 after purchasing an additional 762,746 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 186.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 805,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,195,000 after buying an additional 523,803 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 891.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 579,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,226,000 after acquiring an additional 521,404 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 56.0% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,354,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,749,000 after purchasing an additional 486,624 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen lowered shares of 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.33.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

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

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SJM opened at $100.53 on Thursday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $100.31 and a 52-week 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. The company has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $112.13 and its 200-day moving average is $115.64.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently 87.45%.

About J. M. Smucker

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.