Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Sells 6,300 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. reduced its position in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,300 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $1,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 17,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 4,960 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 3,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 4,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 95.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 18,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SJM shares. Barclays cut their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.78.

J. M. Smucker Stock Up 2.5 %

J. M. Smucker stock opened at $102.88 on Thursday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 1-year low of $98.77 and a 1-year high of $127.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $106.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.