Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Cuts Stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC reduced its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 16.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,661 shares of the company’s stock after selling 729 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,471,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,702,515,000 after buying an additional 518,433 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 1st quarter valued at about $364,990,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,783,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,435,000 after acquiring an additional 135,158 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,526,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,403,000 after acquiring an additional 192,075 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in J. M. Smucker by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,457,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,518,000 after acquiring an additional 327,680 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of SJM opened at $116.84 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.82. The company has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1-year low of $105.69 and a 1-year high of $134.62.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 14.22%. J. M. Smucker’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This is an increase from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SJM shares. BNP Paribas upgraded J. M. Smucker to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Argus lowered their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.25.

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.