Ethic Inc. Has $4.43 Million Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,229 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,407 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $4,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 188.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of J. M. Smucker stock opened at $111.48 on Friday. The stock 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 J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $98.77 and a 52 week high of $125.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $114.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58.

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 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 analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio is presently -179.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SJM. DA Davidson cut their target price on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 target price on the stock. 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 began coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered 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 note on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $126.50.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In related news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the business'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 completion of 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. 3.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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