Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Boosts Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 128.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,452 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,633 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SJM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,344,933 shares of the company's stock worth $1,469,544,000 after buying an additional 130,533 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 11.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 2.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company's stock worth $265,942,000 after purchasing an additional 418,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,009,017 shares of the company's stock worth $221,232,000 after purchasing an additional 33,758 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total value of $569,974.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. This trade represents a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 0.0 %

SJM traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 221,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,248,987. The firm has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $98.77 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $113.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.73.

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

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -179.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $126.50.

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.