Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its position in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 66.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 243,245 shares of the company’s stock after selling 489,099 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $26,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter valued at about $112,978,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,734,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,222,000 after buying an additional 380,309 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,988,000. Amundi grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 628,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,250,000 after acquiring an additional 207,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,361,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,082,000 after acquiring an additional 192,748 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total value of $594,902.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,022,390.44. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SJM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson dropped 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, StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of SJM stock opened at $114.55 on Friday. 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 J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $98.77 and a fifty-two week high of $125.42. The firm has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $110.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.94.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio 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.