First Trust Advisors LP Sells 108,219 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 677,981 shares of the company’s stock after selling 108,219 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.64% of J. M. Smucker worth $74,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 188.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 1,365.5% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley started 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, TD Cowen lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $115.95 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $112.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.73. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $98.77 and a 52-week high of $125.42. The company has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -179.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. The trade was a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. This trade represents a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

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.