MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 6,679 Shares of Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its position in Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,363 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 6,679 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Berry were worth $146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Berry during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Berry by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,114 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 4,294 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management raised its position in shares of Berry by 149.7% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 13,780 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 8,261 shares during the period. RPO LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Berry during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Berry during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. 94.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Berry Stock Up 17.3 %

Berry stock opened at $2.82 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $2.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $218.43 million, a P/E ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.15. Berry Co. has a twelve month low of $2.11 and a twelve month high of $7.81.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.02). Berry had a return on equity of 6.50% and a net margin of 9.40%. As a group, analysts expect that Berry Co. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Berry Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, March 22nd were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. Berry’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.00%.

About Berry

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.