CENTRAL TRUST Co Sells 919 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

CENTRAL TRUST Co decreased its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 4.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,870 shares of the company’s stock after selling 919 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $2,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SJM. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2,266.7% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SJM shares. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.47.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In related news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of J. M. Smucker stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,192.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

J. M. Smucker Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SJM traded down $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.82. 1,432,039 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,250,079. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $116.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.73. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $107.33 and a 52 week high of $156.03. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -127.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.23.

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

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -481.81%.

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.