Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,608 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,985 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Post worth $12,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Post by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 320,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,694,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Post in the fourth quarter valued at $2,777,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Post by 133.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 7,172 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Post by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Post by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on POST shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Post from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Post from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Post from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Post from $133.00 to $127.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William P. Stiritz acquired 186,740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $109.11 per share, for a total transaction of $20,375,201.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,298,667 shares in the company, valued at $469,027,556.37. This represents a 4.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 1,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.97, for a total transaction of $190,697.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 43,751 shares in the company, valued at $4,767,546.47. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Post Stock Performance

Post stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $106.17. 100,522 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 620,474. The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.13. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.33 and a 52-week high of $125.84. The firm's 50 day moving average is $109.60 and its 200 day moving average is $111.24.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Post had a net margin of 4.53% and a return on equity of 10.24%. Post's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. Analysts predict that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 6.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Post

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.