Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Cuts Stake in Post Holdings, Inc. $POST

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST) by 38.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,111 shares of the company’s stock after selling 689 shares during the quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Post were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in POST. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Post by 232.1% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 279 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC lifted its holdings in Post by 167.2% in the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Post during the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Post by 131.1% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Post by 17.7% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 844 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.85% of the company’s stock.

Post Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of POST opened at $106.65 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $105.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.21. Post Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.44 and a 12-month high of $125.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 0.49.

Post announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, August 29th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William P. Stiritz purchased 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $109.53 per share, for a total transaction of $3,943,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,334,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,776,076.51. This represents a 0.84% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Post from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Post from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Post in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Post from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Post from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

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.