Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 582,700 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 51.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 560,627 shares of the company's stock after selling 582,700 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.53% of J. M. Smucker worth $61,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 17,146 shares of the company's stock worth $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew 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 buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendel Money Management grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 3,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in 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 up $1.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $112.56. 1,328,396 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,172,592. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.36. The J. M. Smucker Company has a one year low of $98.77 and a one year high of $125.42. The company's 50 day moving average is $114.26 and its 200 day moving average is $111.32.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -179.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SJM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. DA Davidson cut 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $126.50.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. The trade was a 36.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

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.