Baird Financial Group Inc. Invests $38.64 Million in BellRing Brands Inc. $BRBR

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has acquired a new position in BellRing Brands Inc., purchasing 518,958 shares valued at approximately $38.6 million, representing 0.40% of the company.
• A variety of hedge funds have also recently increased their positions in BellRing Brands, with Versant Capital Management Inc. boosting its holdings by 1,742.9% in the first quarter.
• Research analysts' outlook on BellRing Brands is mixed, with target prices ranging from $45 to $90, indicating varying levels of confidence in the stock's future performance.

Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in BellRing Brands Inc. (NYSE:BRBR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 518,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,642,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.40% of BellRing Brands as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of BellRing Brands by 418.1% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 2,248,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,455,000 after buying an additional 1,814,811 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BellRing Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $71,004,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of BellRing Brands by 77.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,761,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,137,000 after buying an additional 768,595 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of BellRing Brands by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,709,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,805,000 after buying an additional 724,337 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BellRing Brands by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,321,022 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,866,000 after buying an additional 564,342 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of BellRing Brands from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of BellRing Brands in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of BellRing Brands from $82.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of BellRing Brands from $78.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of BellRing Brands from $75.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Shawn Conway bought 2,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $36.41 per share, for a total transaction of $98,307.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at $243,400.85. The trade was a 67.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig L. Rosenthal bought 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $37.29 per share, for a total transaction of $96,954.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 33,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,282.75. This trade represents a 8.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 6,616 shares of company stock worth $65,995,248 and have sold 11,200 shares worth $638,640. Insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

BellRing Brands Stock Performance

Shares of BellRing Brands stock traded down $3.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.45. 4,215,402 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,118,058. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.44. BellRing Brands Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.02 and a 52 week high of $80.67.

BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $547.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.76 million. BellRing Brands had a net margin of 10.26% and a negative return on equity of 123.43%. BellRing Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. BellRing Brands has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BellRing Brands Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

BellRing Brands declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.