Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,955,438 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,926 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 8.17% of Post worth $436,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Post by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,002,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,382,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Post during the 4th quarter worth $19,598,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Post by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,634,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,112,000 after purchasing an additional 209,111 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Post by 347.8% during the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 256,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,630,000 after purchasing an additional 199,592 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Post during the 4th quarter worth $6,047,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Post

In related news, Director Robert E. Grote sold 16,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at $460,152. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.62, for a total transaction of $158,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,762,225.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert E. Grote sold 16,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,152. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,345 shares of company stock worth $2,344,320. Company insiders own 10.70% of the company’s stock.

Post Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of POST stock opened at $103.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 0.63. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.85 and a 1-year high of $108.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.62.

Post (NYSE:POST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.22. Post had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 10.93%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Post’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Post from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Post from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Post from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.67.

Post Profile

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.