Champlain Investment Partners LLC Sells 8,646 Shares of J & J Snack Foods Corp. $JJSF

Key Points

• Champlain Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in J & J Snack Foods Corp. by selling 8,646 shares, resulting in a total ownership of 348,239 shares, valued at approximately $45.87 million.
• J & J Snack Foods has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.80 per share, representing a 2.8% dividend yield, with the payment date set for October 7th.
• Despite recent changes in ownership among institutional investors, J & J Snack Foods reported $2.00 earnings per share for its last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.74.

Champlain Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 348,239 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,646 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned 1.79% of J & J Snack Foods worth $45,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 4.8% during the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 3.0% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in J & J Snack Foods by 31.0% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,682 shares of the company's stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,256 shares of the company's stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J & J Snack Foods from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of J & J Snack Foods from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.50.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Performance

J & J Snack Foods stock traded down $3.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $108.45. 26,136 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 154,599. The company's 50-day moving average is $114.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.63. J & J Snack Foods Corp. has a 52-week low of $106.40 and a 52-week high of $180.80. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33 and a beta of 0.42.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.26. J & J Snack Foods had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 8.79%. The business had revenue of $454.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $445.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

J & J Snack Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from J & J Snack Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. J & J Snack Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.73%.

J & J Snack Foods Company Profile

J&J Snack Foods Corp. engages in the manufacturing of nutritional snack foods and distribution of frozen beverages to the food service and retail supermarket industries. It operates through the following segments: Food Service, Retail Supermarkets, and Frozen Beverages. The Food Service segment includes soft pretzels, frozen novelties, churros, handheld products, and baked goods.