Zacks Investment Management Sells 5,741 Shares of Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)

Zacks Investment Management reduced its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,844 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,741 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management owned about 0.07% of Edgewell Personal Care worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPC. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 21.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 102,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,707,000 after purchasing an additional 18,214 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 72.6% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 19,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 8,384 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 563.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,400,000 after purchasing an additional 126,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $41,078,000 after buying an additional 6,964 shares during the period. 91.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EPC shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $53.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Edgewell Personal Care from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Edgewell Personal Care presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.71.

Edgewell Personal Care Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPC opened at $30.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $30.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.00. Edgewell Personal Care Co has a twelve month low of $26.65 and a twelve month high of $41.50.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.06). Edgewell Personal Care had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 9.29%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Edgewell Personal Care Co will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Edgewell Personal Care’s payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

About Edgewell Personal Care

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.