CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 30,756 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co trimmed its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,925 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,756 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.07% of J. M. Smucker worth $8,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SJM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.0% during the 4th 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 grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,609,952 shares of the company's stock worth $286,664,000 after acquiring an additional 58,231 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,942,000 after acquiring an additional 418,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,361,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,082,000 after purchasing an additional 192,748 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.5 %

SJM stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $115.16. 788,743 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,176,224. The firm's 50-day moving average is $113.05 and its 200-day moving average is $111.81. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12 month low of $98.77 and a 12 month high of $125.42. The company has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker's payout ratio is -179.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen cut J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered 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 note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley started 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 on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $126.50.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 in the company, valued at $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 owned by company insiders.

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.