The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) Announces Dividend Increase – $1.10 Per Share

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 16th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 1.10 per share on Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a 1.9% increase from J. M. Smucker’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08.

J. M. Smucker has a payout ratio of 39.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect J. M. Smucker to earn $10.42 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.5%.

J. M. Smucker Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:SJM opened at $108.87 on Friday. J. M. Smucker has a twelve month low of $93.30 and a twelve month high of $125.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.54. The company has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SJM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on J. M. Smucker from $134.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded J. M. Smucker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on J. M. Smucker from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up from $123.00) on shares of J. M. Smucker in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at J. M. Smucker

In other news, Director Tarang Amin acquired 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $96.09 per share, with a total value of $100,894.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $367,544.25. This represents a 37.84% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J. M. Smucker

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SJM. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of J. M. Smucker during the first quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 8,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 28.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 10.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.