Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Acquires 45,933 Shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 62.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,930 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,933 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Scholastic worth $4,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Scholastic during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the 1st quarter worth approximately $129,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Scholastic by 13.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

Scholastic Stock Up 6.2 %

NASDAQ:SCHL opened at $32.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $904.81 million, a PE ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 1.03. Scholastic Co. has a 12-month low of $28.47 and a 12-month high of $41.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.20.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($2.13) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.48) by $0.35. Scholastic had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 0.76%. The business had revenue of $237.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($2.20) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Scholastic Co. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Scholastic’s payout ratio is 55.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Iole Lucchese acquired 1,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.49 per share, with a total value of $50,430.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 74,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,264,309.36. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Scholastic news, CEO Warwick Peter acquired 1,674 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.46 per share, with a total value of $50,990.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 104,349 shares in the company, valued at $3,178,470.54. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Iole Lucchese bought 1,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.49 per share, for a total transaction of $50,430.46. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,264,309.36. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 18.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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 print, digital, and audio books, as well as media and interactive products through its school reading events and trade channel; and operation of school-based book clubs and book fairs in the United States.