AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 156,750 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 51.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,614 shares of the company's stock after selling 156,750 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.14% of J. M. Smucker worth $16,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 188.8% during the fourth 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. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. This represents a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

J. M. Smucker stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $111.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,086,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,966. The stock has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36. 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 $125.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.38.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. J. M. Smucker's payout ratio is presently -179.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on SJM. Barclays dropped 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 note on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $126.50.

J. M. Smucker 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.