The J. M. Smucker Company $SJM Shares Sold by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company by 9.2% in Q4, selling 26,048 shares and now holding 257,042 shares valued at about $25.14 million, while institutional investors own roughly 81.66% of the stock.
• Smucker beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.38 EPS versus $2.27 expected and $2.34 billion in revenue (up 7% year-over-year), but the stock still carries a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target of $117.25.
• The company announced a $1.10 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.40, ~4.6% yield) with an ex-dividend/record date of May 15 and a payment date of June 1.

Advisors Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 257,042 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,048 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.24% of J. M. Smucker worth $25,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 3,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 1.2% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 8,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 22.9% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 586 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 5.1% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on SJM shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $117.25.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

NYSE SJM opened at $96.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.27. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $88.25 and a 52-week high of $119.39.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.11. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 14.07% and a positive return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio is currently -37.32%.

J. M. Smucker Company Profile

The J. M. Smucker Company is a diversified food and beverage manufacturer and marketer known for a portfolio of well-established consumer brands. The company's main business activities include the production and distribution of fruit spreads, peanut butter, coffee and coffee filters, as well as pet food and pet snacks. Smucker's core product lines serve both retail and foodservice customers through grocery chains, mass merchandisers, club stores, convenience outlets and e-commerce channels.

Among its leading brands are Smucker's® fruit spreads, Jif® peanut butter, Folgers® and Dunkin'® coffees, and Café Bustelo® coffee.

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