The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Stake Reduced by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,039,306 shares of the company's stock after selling 305,627 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.25% of J. M. Smucker worth $1,543,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 113.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 124.8% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 13,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SJM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $118.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised J. M. Smucker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $128.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $119.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Six research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.67.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM traded up $1.62 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $112.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,233,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,562,495. The J. M. Smucker Company has a one year low of $93.30 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $12.03 billion, a PE ratio of -9.77, a P/E/G ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.31. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $104.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.09.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from J. M. Smucker's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -38.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Tarang Amin acquired 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $96.09 per share, for a total transaction of $100,894.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at $367,544.25. This represents a 37.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.