BlackRock Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)

BlackRock Inc. lessened its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC – Get Rating) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,124,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 398,556 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned about 15.67% of Edgewell Personal Care worth $303,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 129.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 57,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after acquiring an additional 32,292 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 653.6% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 5,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 4,418 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC acquired a new stake in Edgewell Personal Care during the 3rd quarter valued at $954,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Suisse AG grew its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 96,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.46% of the company’s stock.

Edgewell Personal Care Price Performance

Shares of EPC stock opened at $40.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Edgewell Personal Care Co has a 1-year low of $32.00 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.35.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.10. Edgewell Personal Care had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The business had revenue of $469.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Edgewell Personal Care Co will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 7th. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care to $44.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Edgewell Personal Care in a report on Wednesday, November 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Edgewell Personal Care currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

About Edgewell Personal Care

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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.