Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 7,018 Shares of Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 251,422 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,018 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Edgewell Personal Care worth $9,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EPC. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 128,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 13.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,339 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,130,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,078,000 after purchasing an additional 6,964 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 563.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,400,000 after purchasing an additional 126,168 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.91% of the company’s stock.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Performance

NYSE:EPC opened at $33.50 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.88. Edgewell Personal Care Co has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.50.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.05. Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 4.38%. The business had revenue of $517.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $535.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Edgewell Personal Care Co will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Edgewell Personal Care Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Edgewell Personal Care’s payout ratio is 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EPC shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Edgewell Personal Care from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.40.

Edgewell Personal Care Company Profile

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.