MetLife Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 61,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Spire were worth $4,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Spire during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Spire during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Spire by 1,318.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Spire by 26.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its position in shares of Spire by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spire presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.93.

Spire Price Performance

Spire stock opened at $72.40 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.33. Spire Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.36 and a 12-month high of $73.64. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $3.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.35%. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.85%.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $73.61 per share, with a total value of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Spire Profile

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.