The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Shares Sold by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. reduced its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,913 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,279 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $1,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SJM. Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 2,266.7% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 284 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 77.1% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total transaction of $399,264.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,192.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SJM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.47.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

NYSE SJM traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $114.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 217,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,547. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $120.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.67. The firm has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -130.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.21. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $107.33 and a 52 week high of $159.92.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 14.29% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently -481.81%.

About J. M. Smucker

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.