Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,009,017 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 33,758 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.89% of J. M. Smucker worth $221,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 188.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1,365.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 425 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,022,390.44. The trade was a 36.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SJM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen lowered J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson dropped 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $117.76 on Wednesday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $98.77 and a 12-month high of $125.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. 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 of $112.47 and a 200 day moving average of $111.77.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. J. M. Smucker's payout ratio is presently -179.25%.

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.

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