Kennon Green & Company LLC Lowers Stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Kennon Green & Company LLC trimmed its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,781 shares of the company’s stock after selling 915 shares during the period. Kennon Green & Company LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,777,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,503,000 after buying an additional 151,389 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 487.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,459,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210,837 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,457,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,170,000 after acquiring an additional 29,728 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 363.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,274,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,258,000 after purchasing an additional 999,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 6.5% in the third quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 659,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,109,000 after purchasing an additional 40,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In related news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total transaction of $399,264.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SJM shares. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.47.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of SJM traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $114.10. 465,897 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,263,743. 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 J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $107.33 and a 52-week high of $159.92. The company has a market cap of $12.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.09, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.69.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.21. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 14.29% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. J. M. Smucker’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.6 EPS 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 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. 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.