Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Trims Position in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,744 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,341 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Scholastic were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Scholastic by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 657,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,060,000 after acquiring an additional 22,568 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 2.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,627,000 after purchasing an additional 11,673 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 2.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 349,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,324,000 after purchasing an additional 6,893 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the third quarter worth $11,263,000. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Scholastic by 1.9% during the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 215,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,205,000 after buying an additional 3,915 shares during the period. 82.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scholastic news, EVP Iole Lucchese sold 400,000 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 579,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,410,566.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 18.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Scholastic Price Performance

SCHL stock opened at $36.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88 and a beta of 1.05. Scholastic Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.98.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.57) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Scholastic Co. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Scholastic’s payout ratio is 55.17%.

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.