Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 956 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 956 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $3,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of SJM stock opened at $115.91 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $110.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.92. 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 J. M. Smucker Company has a 1 year low of $98.77 and a 1 year high of $125.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is presently -179.25%.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,493.68. This trade represents a 27.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $123.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.67.

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.