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

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,074 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,244 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.07% of J. M. Smucker worth $7,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SJM. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the 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 approximately $1,022,390.44. This represents a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four 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 a consensus target price of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM traded up $1.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.50. The company had a trading volume of 78,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,176,230. The firm has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.79, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12 month low of $98.77 and a 12 month high of $125.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $112.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. As a group, analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio is -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.