Raymond James & Associates Trims Stock Position in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Raymond James & Associates decreased its holdings in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 32.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,037 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,423 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Scholastic were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Scholastic by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new stake in Scholastic in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Scholastic by 69.8% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Scholastic in the 4th quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter valued at $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Stock Performance

Shares of Scholastic stock opened at $38.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61 and a beta of 1.10. Scholastic Co. has a one year low of $30.50 and a one year high of $47.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $38.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.20.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 21st. The company reported ($2.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.35) by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $228.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.79 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 3.45%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.33) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Scholastic Co. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SCHL. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Scholastic in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. TheStreet downgraded shares of Scholastic from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd.

About Scholastic

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.