6,390 Shares in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Purchased by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $704,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,344,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,469,544,000 after acquiring an additional 130,533 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,734,305 shares of the company's stock worth $411,222,000 after acquiring an additional 380,309 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,609,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,664,000 after purchasing an additional 58,231 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,942,000 after purchasing an additional 418,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,009,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,232,000 after purchasing an additional 33,758 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SJM traded down $2.99 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $110.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,247,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,165,684. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $98.77 and a fifty-two week high of $125.42. The company has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $114.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.20.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. J. M. Smucker's payout ratio is currently -179.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,022,390.44. This represents a 36.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SJM. Citigroup decreased their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $128.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on 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. UBS Group started coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $125.70.

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.