Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Stock Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 603,598 shares of the company's stock after selling 208,380 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.57% of J. M. Smucker worth $66,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,344,933 shares of the company's stock worth $1,469,544,000 after acquiring an additional 130,533 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,734,305 shares of the company's stock worth $411,222,000 after acquiring an additional 380,309 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,609,952 shares of the company's stock worth $286,664,000 after acquiring an additional 58,231 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company's stock worth $265,942,000 after acquiring an additional 418,878 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,009,017 shares of the company's stock worth $221,232,000 after buying an additional 33,758 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SJM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered their price target on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $126.50.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 2.1%

J. M. Smucker stock traded up $2.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $112.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 929,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,298. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $98.77 and a fifty-two week high of $125.42. 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 company has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.29.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) 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. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. On average, research analysts expect 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 declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. 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.