Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Lowers Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 527 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $1,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SJM. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank raised its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1,365.5% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SJM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.50.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $116.23 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.76. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $98.77 and a fifty-two week high of $125.42.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -179.25%.

Insider Activity 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 value of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of J. M. Smucker 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,794 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

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.