Route One Investment Company L.P. Trims Holdings in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Key Points

• Route One Investment Company L.P. has significantly reduced its stake in Post Holdings, Inc., now holding approximately $471 million worth of shares, which constitutes 19.6% of its portfolio.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Brooklyn Investment Group and Bessemer Group Inc., have increased their investments in Post Holdings during the first quarter of this year.
• Post's recent quarterly earnings surpassed estimates, reporting $2.03 earnings per share and a revenue of $1.98 billion, leading analysts to maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Route One Investment Company L.P. reduced its stake in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,048,439 shares of the company's stock after selling 126,100 shares during the period. Post accounts for approximately 19.6% of Route One Investment Company L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Route One Investment Company L.P. owned 7.17% of Post worth $471,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in POST. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Post by 232.1% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 279 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Post by 68.4% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 352 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC raised its position in Post by 167.2% in the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 358 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Post by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 477 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Post by 112.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. 94.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Post from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Post from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Post from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Piper Sandler increased their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.20.

Insider Activity

In other Post news, Director William P. Stiritz purchased 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $109.53 per share, with a total value of $3,943,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,334,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,776,076.51. This trade represents a 0.84% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Post Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE POST traded up $1.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $106.02. 696,478 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 642,477. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.93. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.05 and a 1-year high of $125.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.36. Post had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 6.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Post declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, August 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.