Ariel Investments LLC Has $201.84 Million Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Ariel Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,832,861 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 201,576 shares during the quarter. J. M. Smucker accounts for about 2.2% of Ariel Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Ariel Investments LLC owned about 1.72% of J. M. Smucker worth $201,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SJM. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the third quarter valued at $682,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,038 shares of the company's stock worth $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,465 shares of the company's stock worth $16,405,000 after acquiring an additional 5,790 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 703,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,251,000 after purchasing an additional 31,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 526 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SJM shares. StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $126.50.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, 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 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 J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of SJM traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $113.60. 910,247 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,165,517. 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 J. M. Smucker Company has a twelve month low of $98.77 and a twelve month high of $125.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $114.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.50. The stock has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio is currently -179.25%.

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.