Cullen Investment Group LTD. Lowers Stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. lowered its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SJM. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 12.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,111,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,145,000 after acquiring an additional 762,746 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,169,000 after purchasing an additional 958,142 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in J. M. Smucker by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,783,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,435,000 after purchasing an additional 135,158 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,526,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,403,000 after purchasing an additional 192,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,361,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,082,000 after buying an additional 192,748 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

NYSE:SJM opened at $102.22 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $112.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.69. The firm has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $100.77 and a 52-week high of $134.62.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $112,322.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,116,942. This trade represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on SJM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen lowered J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.33.

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.