Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $14.74 Million Stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,862 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,603 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of J. M. Smucker worth $14,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 5,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased its stake in J. M. Smucker by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

NYSE SJM opened at $109.24 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $106.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.26. The stock has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.27. The J. M. Smucker Company has a fifty-two week low of $98.77 and a fifty-two week high of $127.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.25. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is 87.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $112,322.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,942. The trade was a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.78.

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.