First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST)

First Trust Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST - Free Report) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,376 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,275 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.30% of Post worth $20,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of POST. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Post by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 48,920 shares of the company's stock worth $5,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,929 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Post by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 51,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,929,000 after buying an additional 20,900 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Post by 770.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Post in the fourth quarter worth about $559,000. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Post by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,905 shares of the company's stock worth $790,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares during the period. 94.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Post

In other news, SVP Bradly A. Harper sold 2,000 shares of Post stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.59, for a total transaction of $229,180.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,631.19. The trade was a 18.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 5,000 shares of Post stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.50, for a total transaction of $582,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,501 shares in the company, valued at $6,465,866.50. This trade represents a 8.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,096 shares of company stock valued at $4,129,355. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on POST shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Post from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Post from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Post presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.50.

Post Price Performance

Shares of Post stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $113.12. 511,746 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 545,418. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $114.29 and a 200 day moving average of $112.81. Post Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.70 and a fifty-two week high of $125.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

Post (NYSE:POST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.24. Post had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 4.94%. On average, analysts predict that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Post Company 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.