Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Acquires Shares of 5,615 BellRing Brands, Inc. (NYSE:BRBR)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of BellRing Brands, Inc. (NYSE:BRBR) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRBR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BellRing Brands by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,438,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,419,000 after acquiring an additional 135,105 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in BellRing Brands by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,577,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,885,000 after purchasing an additional 96,991 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in BellRing Brands by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,266,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,429,000 after buying an additional 1,121,691 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in BellRing Brands by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,655,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,413,000 after buying an additional 898,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BellRing Brands by 284.2% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,278,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,663,000 after buying an additional 1,685,525 shares during the period. 94.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BellRing Brands Price Performance

NYSE:BRBR opened at $63.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.51. BellRing Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.06 and a 1 year high of $80.67.

BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. BellRing Brands had a net margin of 13.32% and a negative return on equity of 130.14%. The firm had revenue of $588.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that BellRing Brands, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

BellRing Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on BRBR. Barclays set a $75.00 price objective on BellRing Brands and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BellRing Brands in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of BellRing Brands in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of BellRing Brands from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of BellRing Brands from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BellRing Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

Insider Activity

In other BellRing Brands news, insider Douglas J. Cornille sold 3,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.13, for a total transaction of $239,814.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,836 shares in the company, valued at $4,345,218.68. The trade was a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert V. Vitale sold 79,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.04, for a total value of $6,091,398.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 982,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,707,670.24. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 188,275 shares of company stock valued at $14,345,014 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

About BellRing Brands

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.