Brandes Investment Partners LP Acquires 355,224 Shares of Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,041,665 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 355,224 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 4.20% of Edgewell Personal Care worth $68,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,866,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the 4th quarter worth approximately $331,000. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 1,075,233.3% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 32,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 32,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 188.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 25,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 16,370 shares in the last quarter. 91.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EPC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.57.

Edgewell Personal Care Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPC opened at $30.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $31.78 and its 200 day moving average is $34.51. Edgewell Personal Care Co has a 52 week low of $26.65 and a 52 week high of $41.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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

Edgewell Personal Care Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Edgewell Personal Care’s payout ratio is presently 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.