Stephens Inc. AR Lowers Stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,599 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,151 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $2,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1,329.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 1.3 %

J. M. Smucker stock opened at $104.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $99.81 and a fifty-two week high of $130.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $108.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.25.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays cut their target price on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.78.

Insider Activity

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $112,322.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,116,942. The trade was a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

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.