Welch Group LLC Trims Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Welch Group LLC decreased its holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,673 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America decreased their target price on J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.42.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

J. M. Smucker stock traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $117.39. 28,624 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,154,518. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1-year low of $105.69 and a 1-year high of $134.62. The firm has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 14.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is 61.10%.

J. M. Smucker Company 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.