31,900 Shares in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Purchased by Caption Management LLC

Caption Management LLC purchased a new position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 31,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,513,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 17,146 shares of the company's stock worth $1,888,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Mendel Money Management raised its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 3,933 shares of the company's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

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 that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value 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. The trade was a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson lowered their price target on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of 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, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $126.50.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of SJM traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $114.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.38. The J. M. Smucker Company has a one year low of $98.77 and a one year high of $125.42.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. 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.