Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. Reduces Stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 139,087 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,398 shares during the quarter. J. M. Smucker accounts for about 3.4% of Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of J. M. Smucker worth $16,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 113.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 1,365.5% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 425 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 124.8% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 13,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 7,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,117 shares of the company's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 2,182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

SJM stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $104.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,874,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,314,192. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.31. The J. M. Smucker Company has a one year low of $93.30 and a one year high of $125.42. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $106.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.64.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.18 billion. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 15.20% and a negative net margin of 14.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -37.37%.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, Director Tarang Amin purchased 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $96.09 per share, with a total value of $100,894.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $367,544.25. This trade represents a 37.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SJM shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $118.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $134.00 to $129.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.33.

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.