Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stake in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 817,042 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,353 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Edgewell Personal Care were worth $27,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Edgewell Personal Care during the 3rd quarter valued at about $639,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 669,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,345,000 after purchasing an additional 39,059 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 750,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,122,000 after buying an additional 85,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 145.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 14,787 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on 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 price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. UBS Group cut their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $53.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.57.

Edgewell Personal Care Price Performance

EPC stock opened at $30.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.29. Edgewell Personal Care Co has a 12-month low of $26.65 and a 12-month high of $41.50.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 4.09%. As a group, research analysts predict that Edgewell Personal Care Co will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.79%.

Edgewell Personal Care Company Profile

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.