Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,305 shares of the company’s stock after selling 926 shares during the quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in J. M. Smucker were worth $2,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 192.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 368,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,351,000 after acquiring an additional 242,517 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in J. M. Smucker during the first quarter valued at approximately $597,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 15,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 92.0% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 2,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC boosted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 16.4% during the first quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 18,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after buying an additional 2,606 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Amy C. Held sold 9,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.80, for a total transaction of $1,426,064.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,972 shares in the company, valued at $858,773.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Richard K. Smucker sold 19,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.95, for a total value of $2,974,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 623,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,756,779.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Amy C. Held sold 9,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.80, for a total transaction of $1,426,064.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,773.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,465 shares of company stock worth $5,919,283. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

J. M. Smucker Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SJM stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $126.83. 2,859,860 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,486,287. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -746.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $144.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.61. The J. M. Smucker Company has a 52-week low of $126.25 and a 52-week high of $163.07.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 29th. The company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.19. J. M. Smucker had a negative net margin of 0.21% and a positive return on equity of 12.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J. M. Smucker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This is an increase from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -2,494.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. 58.com restated a “maintains” rating on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Thursday, June 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $157.00 to $135.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, TheStreet downgraded J. M. Smucker from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.93.

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.