Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 47,781 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 42.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,512 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,781 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.06% of J. M. Smucker worth $7,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SJM. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 188.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $124.00 price target (up previously from $123.00) on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Friday, June 6th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on J. M. Smucker from $128.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on J. M. Smucker from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.80.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.1%

J. M. Smucker stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $95.62. 235,062 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,230,050. The J. M. Smucker Company has a one year low of $93.93 and a one year high of $125.42. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $112.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.06. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -37.37%.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other news, Director Tarang Amin purchased 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $96.09 per share, with a total value of $100,894.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $367,544.25. This represents a 37.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at $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.

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.