Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,708 Shares of The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,154 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,708 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of J. M. Smucker worth $15,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,344,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,544,000 after purchasing an additional 130,533 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,734,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,222,000 after purchasing an additional 380,309 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,609,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,664,000 after purchasing an additional 58,231 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,415,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,942,000 after purchasing an additional 418,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,009,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,232,000 after purchasing an additional 33,758 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, Director Tarang Amin acquired 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $96.09 per share, with a total value of $100,894.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $367,544.25. This represents a 37.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SJM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $128.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. BNP Paribas Exane raised J. M. Smucker from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on J. M. Smucker from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $124.00 target price (up from $123.00) on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.33.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

NYSE:SJM opened at $104.75 on Friday. The J. M. Smucker Company has a twelve month low of $93.30 and a twelve month high of $125.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $106.02 and a 200-day moving average of $108.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.06. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 15.20% and a negative net margin of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The J. M. Smucker Company will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. J. M. Smucker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -37.37%.

About J. M. Smucker

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.