Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) Position Increased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,799,860 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,850 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Edgewell Personal Care worth $194,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,041,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,600,000 after buying an additional 355,224 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 878,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,514,000 after acquiring an additional 253,014 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,473,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 563.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,400,000 after purchasing an additional 126,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,866,000. 91.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EPC opened at $29.65 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.54. Edgewell Personal Care Co has a 52 week low of $26.65 and a 52 week high of $41.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.94.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.06). Edgewell Personal Care had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 9.29%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Edgewell Personal Care Co will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio is 32.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on EPC. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com cut Edgewell Personal Care from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $53.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Edgewell Personal Care currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.57.

About Edgewell Personal Care

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.