Fmr LLC Acquires 380,309 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,734,305 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 380,309 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned approximately 3.51% of J. M. Smucker worth $411,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 13,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,150 shares of the company's stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 1,586.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 64,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,051,000 after acquiring an additional 60,236 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at $1,566,000. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 15,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SJM shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SJM traded down $0.98 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $116.93. The stock had a trading volume of 330,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,181. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $98.77 and a 52 week high of $125.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35.

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

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -179.25%.

J. M. Smucker 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.