Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 13,963 Shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its position in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) by 15.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 77,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,963 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Post were worth $8,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of POST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Post by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,288,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,035,000 after acquiring an additional 332,811 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Post by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,002,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,382,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Post in the 4th quarter worth $19,598,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Post by 347.8% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 256,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,630,000 after buying an additional 199,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Post in the 4th quarter worth $6,047,000. Institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Post

In other news, Director Robert E. Grote sold 16,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.58, for a total value of $1,761,650.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,152. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.62, for a total value of $158,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,762,225.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert E. Grote sold 16,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.58, for a total transaction of $1,761,650.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,152. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,345 shares of company stock valued at $2,344,320. Company insiders own 10.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Post from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Post from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Post from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.67.

Post Price Performance

POST stock opened at $108.97 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 2.16. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.85 and a 52 week high of $110.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $105.14 and its 200 day moving average is $103.38. The firm has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 0.64.

Post (NYSE:POST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Post had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 10.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Research analysts predict that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

About Post

Post Holdings, Inc operates as a consumer packaged goods holding company in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Post Consumer Brands, Weetabix, Foodservice, and Refrigerated Retail. The Post Consumer Brands segment manufactures, markets, and sells branded and private label ready-to-eat (RTE) cereals under Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, and Malt-O-Meal brand names; hot cereal; peanut butter under the Peter Pan brand; and branded and private label dog and cat food products under Rachael Ray Nutrish, Nature's Recipe, 9Lives, Kibbles 'n Bits and Gravy Train brand names.