13,700 Shares in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 13,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,263,000. Azarias Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Scholastic by 47.9% during the third quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 184,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,019,000 after acquiring an additional 59,630 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in Scholastic by 103.3% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 25,403 shares during the period. Capula Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $959,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Scholastic by 3,084.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 24,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 23,567 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Iole Lucchese sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.51, for a total transaction of $13,404,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 579,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,410,566.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 18.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Scholastic Trading Down 0.7 %

SCHL stock opened at $36.15 on Tuesday. Scholastic Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.01.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.80). Scholastic had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 3.16%. The business had revenue of $323.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.57) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Scholastic Co. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.17%.

Scholastic 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.