Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Post during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Post during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Post by 487.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Post by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 610 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Post during the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Post

In other Post news, Director Robert E. Grote sold 16,845 shares of Post stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.58, for a total transaction of $1,761,650.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,152. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Nicolas Catoggio sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.62, for a total value of $158,430.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,492 shares in the company, valued at $7,762,225.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert E. Grote sold 16,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.58, for a total value of $1,761,650.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,152. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,345 shares of company stock worth $2,344,320. 10.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Post Price Performance

POST opened at $101.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.04. Post Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.85 and a twelve month high of $108.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 0.63.

Post (NYSE:POST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Post had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 10.93%. Post’s revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on POST shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Post from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Post from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Post from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.67.

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.