The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Position Cut by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,230 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,232 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.18% of J. M. Smucker worth $21,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Romano Brothers AND Company grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 3.5% during the third quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 2,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 17.9% during the fourth 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. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 11.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on SJM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. TD Cowen cut J. M. Smucker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $126.78.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $112,322.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,116,942. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 2.5 %

J. M. Smucker stock traded up $2.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,759,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,115,269. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.27. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12 month low of $98.77 and a 12 month high of $127.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $106.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.54.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. J. M. Smucker's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.45%.

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.