Jennison Associates LLC Has $18.77 Million Stock Holdings in Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE:UTZ - Free Report) by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,155,625 shares of the company's stock after selling 488,098 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.82% of Utz Brands worth $18,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Utz Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $169,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Utz Brands by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,566 shares of the company's stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 3,881 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Utz Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $167,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Utz Brands by 1,428.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 5,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Utz Brands by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,952,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,946,000 after acquiring an additional 199,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Utz Brands from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Utz Brands in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $20.00 to $20.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Utz Brands from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Series U. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 446,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.40, for a total value of $7,764,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 397,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,923,199. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Series U. Of Um Partners, Llc sold 446,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.40, for a total value of $7,764,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 397,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,923,199. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Chinh Chu sold 92,226 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total value of $1,641,622.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,556,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,299,541.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 609,181 shares of company stock worth $10,754,925 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Utz Brands Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE UTZ traded down $0.14 on Friday, hitting $18.61. 352,552 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 781,631. The company's 50 day moving average price is $18.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.97. Utz Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.17 and a twelve month high of $19.21.

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $352.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.63 million. Utz Brands had a negative net margin of 1.73% and a positive return on equity of 6.08%. Utz Brands's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. Analysts predict that Utz Brands, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Utz Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.059 dividend. This is an increase from Utz Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Utz Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently -74.19%.

Utz Brands Profile

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.