Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 61.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,775 shares of the company's stock after selling 62,575 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $4,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the company's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Mendel Money Management boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 3,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Code Waechter LLC grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 5,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. This represents a 36.78 % 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

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their target price on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

SJM traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $115.95. 828,901 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,180,550. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $112.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1-year low of $98.77 and a 1-year high of $125.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -179.25%.

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.