J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) Shares Acquired by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of J & J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ:JJSF) by 170.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,595 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,265 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in J & J Snack Foods were worth $473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in J & J Snack Foods by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 77,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,251,000 after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 10.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,506,000 after acquiring an additional 2,431 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of J & J Snack Foods by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 162,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in J & J Snack Foods by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 74,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,567,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark decreased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen raised J & J Snack Foods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th.

J & J Snack Foods Stock Performance

Shares of JJSF opened at $114.35 on Thursday. J & J Snack Foods Corp. has a one year low of $106.40 and a one year high of $180.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.09 and its 200-day moving average is $123.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66 and a beta of 0.45.

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $454.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. J & J Snack Foods’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that J & J Snack Foods Corp. will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J & J Snack Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from J & J Snack Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. J & J Snack Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.