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

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 109,670 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,720 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.19% of Post worth $12,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Post by 51.4% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,237,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,863,000 after acquiring an additional 419,945 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in Post by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,405,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,663,000 after purchasing an additional 244,221 shares in the last quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Post during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $23,089,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Post by 901.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 179,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,745,000 after purchasing an additional 161,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Post by 352.0% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 196,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,709,000 after buying an additional 152,791 shares during the last quarter. 94.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Post from $120.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Post from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Post has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.17.

Post Price Performance

POST opened at $114.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $113.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.09. Post Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.53 and a fifty-two week high of $125.84. The firm has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 0.66.

Insider Transactions at Post

In other news, COO Jeff A. Zadoks sold 28,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.96, for a total transaction of $3,475,121.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 67,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,131,848.48. This represents a 29.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bradly A. Harper sold 1,000 shares of Post stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.09, for a total transaction of $120,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,347,409.80. This represents a 8.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,969 shares of company stock worth $4,322,051. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.