Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 47.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,027 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,226 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker during the first quarter valued at $203,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 113.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 124.8% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 13,355 shares of the company's stock worth $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,414 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,117 shares of the company's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.6% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 20,968 shares of the company's stock worth $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other news, Director Tarang Amin acquired 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $96.09 per share, with a total value of $100,894.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at $367,544.25. This trade represents a 37.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price target on J. M. Smucker from $128.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. BNP Paribas Exane raised J. M. Smucker from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised J. M. Smucker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.67.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 0.8%

SJM stock traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $108.16. 1,592,962 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,962,754. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $93.30 and a 52-week high of $125.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.67 and a 200-day moving average of $108.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.36, a P/E/G ratio of 8.16 and a beta of 0.31.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.06. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 15.20% and a negative net margin of 14.10%. 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 business posted $2.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from J. M. Smucker's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. J. M. Smucker's payout ratio is currently -37.37%.

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.