Swiss National Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.17% of Scholastic worth $1,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Scholastic in the 4th quarter valued at about $974,000. Oak Family Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Scholastic by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC now owns 27,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 3,656 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Scholastic in the 3rd quarter valued at $672,000. Finally, Aviva PLC acquired a new stake in Scholastic during the 3rd quarter worth $359,000. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

Scholastic Trading Down 0.3 %

SCHL stock opened at $37.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.53 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.84. Scholastic Co. has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $45.98.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.80). Scholastic had a net margin of 3.16% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $323.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.57) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Scholastic Co. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Iole Lucchese sold 400,000 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.51, for a total value of $13,404,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 579,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,410,566.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 18.62% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Company Profile

Scholastic Corporation publishes and distributes children's books worldwide. It operates in three segments: Children's Book Publishing and Distribution, Education Solutions, and International. The Children's Book Publishing and Distribution segment engages in publication and distribution of children's books, eBooks, media, and interactive products through its school book clubs and fair channels, and trade channel.