MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 6,028 Shares of BellRing Brands, Inc. (NYSE:BRBR)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in BellRing Brands, Inc. (NYSE:BRBR) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 72,844 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,028 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in BellRing Brands were worth $5,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BellRing Brands by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of BellRing Brands by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates raised its position in shares of BellRing Brands by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 50,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,799,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BellRing Brands by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BellRing Brands by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. 94.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on BRBR shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BellRing Brands from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of BellRing Brands in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of BellRing Brands from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group started coverage on BellRing Brands in a report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on BellRing Brands from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BellRing Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert V. Vitale sold 44,249 shares of BellRing Brands stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $3,423,545.13. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 938,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,608,418.09. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Douglas J. Cornille sold 3,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.13, for a total transaction of $239,814.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,345,218.68. This trade represents a 5.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 221,828 shares of company stock valued at $16,917,365 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

BellRing Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRBR opened at $73.86 on Thursday. BellRing Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.06 and a 1 year high of $80.67. The company has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.82.

BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. BellRing Brands had a net margin of 13.32% and a negative return on equity of 130.14%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BellRing Brands, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

BellRing Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 6th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

BellRing Brands Company Profile

BellRing Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides various nutrition products in the United States. The company offers ready-to-drink (RTD) protein shakes, other RTD beverages, powders, nutrition bars, and other products primarily under the Premier Protein and Dymatize brands. It distributes its products through club, food, drug, mass, eCommerce, specialty, and convenience channels.