Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ) Stock Position Reduced by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC cut its position in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 66.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,230 shares of the company's stock after selling 158,482 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Utz Brands worth $1,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Utz Brands by 5.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,110,000 after purchasing an additional 28,484 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Utz Brands in the 3rd quarter worth about $301,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Utz Brands by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 243,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,304,000 after buying an additional 72,756 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,474,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,091,000 after acquiring an additional 235,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 165,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,936,000 after acquiring an additional 82,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Utz Brands from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.22.

Insider Activity at Utz Brands

In other Utz Brands news, insider Cc Collier Holdings, Llc sold 2,815,404 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total value of $48,678,335.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 496,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,576,497.02. This represents a 85.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Cary Devore sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.32, for a total value of $519,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 451,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,813,346.44. This trade represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Utz Brands Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:UTZ traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.92. 358,670 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 659,556. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $17.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.21. Utz Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.29 and a twelve month high of $20.04. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of -89.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.01.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $365.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.98 million. Utz Brands had a positive return on equity of 7.25% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The company's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.061 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio is -126.32%.

About Utz Brands

Utz Brands, Inc engages in manufacture, marketing, and distribution of snack foods. It offers a range of salty snacks, including salty snacks, including potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, pork skins, veggie snacks, pub/party mixes, tortilla chips, salsa and dips, ready-to-eat popcorn, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp's, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TORTIYAHS!, etc.