StockNews.com Lowers Graham (NYSE:GHC) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Graham (NYSE:GHC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Graham Stock Performance

GHC opened at $707.33 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $727.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $674.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 1.11. Graham has a 1-year low of $551.36 and a 1-year high of $771.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Graham (NYSE:GHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $10.94 earnings per share for the quarter. Graham had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 4.65%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter.

Graham Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 18th will be given a dividend of $1.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 17th. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Graham’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.83%.

Insider Activity at Graham

In other news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.99, for a total value of $396,422.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,989.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 32.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graham

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GHC. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in Graham during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graham during the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Graham in the fourth quarter valued at $77,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Graham by 96.9% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Graham by 119.0% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 62.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Graham

Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company in the United States and internationally. It provides test preparation services and materials; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global; operations support services for online courses and programs; training and test preparation services for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates colleges, business school, higher education institution, and an online learning institution.