Ballentine Partners LLC Lowers Position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Ballentine Partners LLC decreased its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 62.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,328 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,859 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1,329.4% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 212.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen cut J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

NYSE SJM opened at $103.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.28. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $99.81 and a 52-week high of $134.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.18.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.45%.

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.