Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 27,244 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,074 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,244 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $7,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at $306,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 7,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 28,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its position in J. M. Smucker by 244.3% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 4,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 236,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,092,000 after buying an additional 6,309 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SJM. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.67.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,022,390.44. This represents a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $114.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. 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 J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $98.77 and a 52 week high of $125.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $111.47 and its 200 day moving average is $111.90.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -179.25%.

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.