Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $303.68 Million Stock Position in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its stake in Post Holdings by 3.9% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 3.07 million shares valued at about $303.68 million. Institutional investors now own 94.85% of Post’s stock.
• Post reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.94 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 4.7% year over year to $2.04 billion. Analysts still expect full-year earnings of $7.57 per share.
• Wall Street remains mixed on the stock: several firms cut price targets, and the consensus rating is still “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $113.80. Meanwhile, shares were trading around $91, below the consensus target and near the 50-day moving average.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,071,875 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 114,677 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 6.42% of Post worth $303,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of POST. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Post by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 267 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Post by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,603 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Post by 119.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 248 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Post by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Post by 7.2% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 94.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory L. Curl sold 6,186 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,586,990.35. This trade represents a 29.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Post

Here are the key news stories impacting Post this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan issued a pessimistic price forecast for POST, which appears to have kept the stock on investors’ radar and may be contributing to volatility as traders reassess valuation expectations. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Post NYSE: POST Stock Price
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks article highlighted Post’s efforts to rebuild its pet food portfolio, including pricing changes and the Nutrish relaunch, which could support future volume recovery and category improvement. How Is Post Holdings Rebuilding Its Pet Food Portfolio for Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quote/history pages suggest POST remains near its 50-day moving average, with investors still weighing the company’s earnings power against a higher debt load and a stock that has traded below its 200-day trend. Post Holdings, Inc. (POST) Stock Price, News, Quote & History - Yahoo Finance

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Post in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings cut Post from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Post from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Post from $119.00 to $106.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Post from $110.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Post has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $113.80.

Post Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of Post stock opened at $91.03 on Thursday. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $83.89 and a 12-month high of $117.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 0.39.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. Post had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 13.36%. Post's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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.

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