Post Holdings, Inc. $POST Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) by 46.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,189 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,096 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.16% of Post worth $7,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of POST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Post during the fourth quarter worth $113,660,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Post by 104.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 415,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,155,000 after acquiring an additional 212,325 shares during the period. H Squared Management LP acquired a new stake in Post in the fourth quarter valued at $19,115,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Post during the 3rd quarter worth $18,959,000. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Post by 773.1% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 176,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,231,000 after purchasing an additional 156,184 shares in the last quarter. 94.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.05, for a total value of $649,839.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,107 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,990.35. This represents a 29.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 14.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Post Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of POST stock opened at $91.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. Post Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.89 and a fifty-two week high of $117.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.14.

Post (NYSE:POST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Post had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Post News

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Post recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.94, topping analyst expectations of $1.73, while revenue grew 4.7% year over year, signaling solid underlying demand and better-than-expected profitability.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s revenue came in slightly below estimates, and margins remain something investors may continue to monitor, but the latest results still pointed to resilient operating performance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts currently expect Post Holdings to generate $7.57 in EPS for the full year, which suggests the market may be focusing on execution versus guidance rather than a major change in the outlook.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Post in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Post from $110.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Post from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Post in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Post from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Post has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.60.

About Post

Post Holdings, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that operates as a holding company for a diverse portfolio of food and beverage brands. The company’s principal activities include the production, marketing and distribution of ready-to-eat cereal, refrigerated and frozen foods, and nutritional beverages. Through its operating segments—Post Consumer Brands, Foodservice, Refrigerated Side Dishes & Bakery, and Active Nutrition—Post Holdings delivers a broad array of products to retail grocers, convenience stores, foodservice operators and e-commerce channels.

The Post Consumer Brands segment features a variety of hot and cold cereals under names such as Honey Bunches of Oats, Shredded Wheat and Pebbles.