The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Plans $1.06 Quarterly Dividend

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of 1.06 per share on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%.

J. M. Smucker has increased its dividend by an average of 5.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 26 years. J. M. Smucker has a dividend payout ratio of 39.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect J. M. Smucker to earn $10.19 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.6%.

J. M. Smucker Price Performance

NYSE SJM traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $111.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,179,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,269,706. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -124.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.21. J. M. Smucker has a 1-year low of $107.33 and a 1-year high of $159.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $121.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.76.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 14.29% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. J. M. Smucker’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that J. M. Smucker will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total value of $399,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,192.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in J. M. Smucker by 492.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 8,102 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 144,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,208,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $279,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Dell Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on SJM shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J. M. Smucker presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.47.

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.