Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.69 Million Stock Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 24.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,940 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $1,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in J. M. Smucker by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of J. M. Smucker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of SJM traded up $0.67 on Tuesday, reaching $118.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 107,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,241,179. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.69. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 12-month low of $105.69 and a 12-month high of $149.46.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 6th. The company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. J. M. Smucker had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.64 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is currently 60.67%.

Insider Activity

In other J. M. Smucker news, CEO Mark T. Smucker sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.16, for a total value of $1,101,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,675,871.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SJM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $132.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of J. M. Smucker from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Argus cut their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.64.

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.