William Blair Investment Management LLC Purchases 253,014 Shares of Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC)

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) by 40.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 878,390 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 253,014 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Edgewell Personal Care were worth $29,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EPC. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 217.4% in the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Edgewell Personal Care in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EPC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $53.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on 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, Morgan Stanley reduced 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.57.

Edgewell Personal Care Price Performance

Shares of EPC stock opened at $30.18 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.66 and its 200-day moving average is $34.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 2.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 1.04. Edgewell Personal Care Co has a 52 week low of $26.65 and a 52 week high of $41.50.

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

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio is 32.79%.

Edgewell Personal Care 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.