Cornerstone Capital Inc. Lowers Stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Cornerstone Capital Inc. reduced its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,395 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,245 shares during the period. Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $5,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 188.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in J. M. Smucker by 1,365.5% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SJM has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen cut 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. DA Davidson reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four 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 price target of $125.67.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SJM opened at $116.39 on Friday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52 week low of $98.77 and a 52 week high of $125.42. 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 fifty day moving average is $111.98 and its 200-day moving average is $111.83. The firm has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.35.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.24. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently -179.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 5,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $569,974.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,493.68. This trade represents a 27.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jill R. Penrose sold 5,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.26, for a total transaction of $594,902.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,022,390.44. This trade represents a 36.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.