The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Position Lowered by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank lowered its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,748 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,229 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $1,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the third quarter worth about $682,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 4.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,465 shares of the company's stock worth $16,405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,790 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 4.7% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 271 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 J. M. Smucker 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 owns 8,794 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,503,493.68. This trade represents a 27.49 % 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 corporate insiders.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SJM traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $115.16. The stock had a trading volume of 788,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,174,407. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $113.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.73. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $98.77 and a 12-month high of $125.42. 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 cap of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35.

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 business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS 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 $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio is currently -179.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped 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 report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen downgraded J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $126.50.

About J. M. Smucker

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.