Legal & General Group Plc Sells 106,393 Shares of Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in shares of Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY - Free Report) by 93.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,189 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 106,393 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc's holdings in Berry were worth $30,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BRY. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Berry by 10.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,903,951 shares of the energy company's stock worth $9,788,000 after acquiring an additional 176,280 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Berry by 155.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 200,120 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 121,693 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Berry by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,101,825 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $8,681,000 after purchasing an additional 214,580 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Berry by 91.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 514,718 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 245,216 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Berry by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 69,036 shares of the energy company's stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 25,800 shares during the last quarter. 94.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Berry Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BRY traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.40. 1,035,602 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,118,269. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $2.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Berry Co. has a one year low of $2.11 and a one year high of $7.82. The firm has a market cap of $186.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.15.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The energy company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.09. Berry had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 9.40%. The business had revenue of $167.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.00 million. Research analysts anticipate that Berry Co. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berry Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 22nd were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. Berry's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.00%.

Berry Profile

Berry Petroleum Company, LLC., formerly Berry Petroleum Company, is an independent energy company. The Company is engaged in the production, development, exploitation, and acquisition of oil and natural gas. The Company's principal reserves and producing properties are located in California (South Midway-Sunset (SMWSS)-Steam Floods, North Midway-Sunset (NMWSS)-Diatomite, NMWSS-New Steam Floods, Texas (Permian and E.