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

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

J. M. Smucker has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 26 consecutive years. J. M. Smucker has a payout ratio of 39.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Up 1.2 %

NYSE:SJM traded up $1.30 on Thursday, hitting $111.10. 1,179,629 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,269,706. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. J. M. Smucker has a 1 year low of $107.33 and a 1 year high of $159.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $121.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.76. The company has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a PE ratio of -124.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.21.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that J. M. Smucker will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at J. M. Smucker

In other J. M. Smucker news, insider Jeannette L. Knudsen sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $1,116,192.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of J. M. Smucker

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SJM. West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the second quarter worth $27,000. O Dell Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC grew its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 97.2% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 211 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on J. M. Smucker from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com raised J. M. Smucker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. DA Davidson started coverage on J. M. Smucker in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on J. M. Smucker from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.47.

J. M. Smucker Company 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.