Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 17,858 Shares of Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC - Free Report) by 93.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,306 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,858 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Edgewell Personal Care were worth $43,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPC. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,041,665 shares of the company's stock worth $68,600,000 after acquiring an additional 355,224 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 878,390 shares of the company's stock worth $29,514,000 after acquiring an additional 253,014 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the fourth quarter worth $7,473,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the fourth quarter worth $5,040,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the fourth quarter worth $4,684,000. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on EPC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Edgewell Personal Care from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.00.

Edgewell Personal Care Trading Down 0.2%

EPC stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $27.63. The company had a trading volume of 509,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,303. Edgewell Personal Care Co has a 52 week low of $24.35 and a 52 week high of $41.50. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.25 and a 200 day moving average of $31.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.03). Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 4.09%. The company had revenue of $580.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Edgewell Personal Care's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Edgewell Personal Care Co will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Edgewell Personal Care's dividend payout ratio is 35.09%.

Edgewell Personal Care Company Profile

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.