The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.06

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) announced 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 payment by an average of 5.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 26 consecutive years. J. M. Smucker has a dividend payout ratio of 39.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Stock Performance

Shares of SJM opened at $111.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. J. M. Smucker has a 12 month low of $107.33 and a 12 month high of $159.92. The company’s fifty day moving average is $121.34 and its 200-day moving average is $120.70. The firm has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -126.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.21.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.21. J. M. Smucker had a positive return on equity of 14.29% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that J. M. Smucker will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SJM shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of J. M. Smucker from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. DA Davidson began coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 price target on the stock. 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J. M. Smucker presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.47.

Insider Transactions at J. M. Smucker

In other news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.77, for a total transaction of $399,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,192.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 30,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,137,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in J. M. Smucker by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 14,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 1.7% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 339,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,980,000 after acquiring an additional 5,531 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in J. M. Smucker by 1,012.2% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 192,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,085,000 after acquiring an additional 175,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,721,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,722,666,000 after acquiring an additional 162,944 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.