Joseph Group Capital Management Boosts Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Joseph Group Capital Management grew its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,729 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,963 shares during the quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management's holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $2,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SJM. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the company's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Money Management boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 3,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Code Waechter LLC grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 5,023 shares of the company's stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. This represents a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 1.5 %

SJM traded up $1.79 on Thursday, hitting $120.24. The company had a trading volume of 413,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,172,708. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.28. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $109.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.20. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $98.77 and a 12-month high of $125.42.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. Analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -179.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SJM has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $125.67.

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.