Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. Buys 27,883 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM - Free Report) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,485 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,883 shares during the period. J. M. Smucker makes up approximately 3.1% of Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of J. M. Smucker worth $15,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 324,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,721,000 after buying an additional 11,339 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,361,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,082,000 after acquiring an additional 192,748 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth about $1,273,000. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 336.3% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 12,950 shares of the company's stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 9,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 271,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,875,000 after purchasing an additional 16,963 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was 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 owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. This trade represents a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,022,390.44. This represents a 36.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SJM shares. UBS Group began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $123.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $126.50.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of SJM traded down $1.97 on Thursday, hitting $115.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,115,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,178,404. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $112.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $98.77 and a fifty-two week high of $125.42. The company has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35.

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 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 firm 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 fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -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.