KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 13,300 Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,522,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Post during the 4th quarter worth $56,864,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Post in the fourth quarter worth about $36,751,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Post by 21.0% in the third 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 during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 152,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Post by 2,907.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 68,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,885,000 after purchasing an additional 65,860 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Post Price Performance

Shares of POST opened at $115.01 on Friday. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.62 and a 52 week high of $125.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The firm has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.31 and a 200-day moving average of $112.73.

Post (NYSE:POST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.24. Post had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 10.48%. As a group, analysts forecast that Post Holdings, Inc. will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on POST shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Post from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Post from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Post presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.17.

Insider Activity at Post

In other news, CAO Diedre J. Gray sold 15,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.80, for a total transaction of $1,755,180.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,237,835. This represents a 43.96 % 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 2,000 shares of Post stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.59, for a total transaction of $229,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,631.19. This represents a 18.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,096 shares of company stock valued at $4,129,355 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.