The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 25.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,417 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $1,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 215.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 7,010 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 252,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,932,000 after purchasing an additional 7,945 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter worth $813,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other news, CEO Mark T. Smucker sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.16, for a total transaction of $1,101,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,675,871.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SJM. Argus lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $132.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.64.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:SJM opened at $118.19 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $112.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.25. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $105.69 and a fifty-two week high of $153.00.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 6th. The company reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a boost from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.55%.

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.