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

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) by 46.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,189 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,096 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Post were worth $7,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in Post during the 1st quarter worth about $322,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Post by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 4,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Post by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Post by 160.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 3,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Post by 12.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 33,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,348,000 after buying an additional 3,670 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

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 Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Post from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. BTIG Research started coverage on Post in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Post from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Post from $119.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Post news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.05, for a total transaction of $649,839.30. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 14.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Post Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of POST opened at $91.17 on Friday. Post Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.89 and a fifty-two week high of $117.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $90.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE 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 (NYSE:POST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Post had a return on equity of 13.36% and a net margin of 4.01%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. Analysts forecast that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Post Profile

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.