Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) by 26.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,614 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,024 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of Graham worth $7,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GHC. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graham in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,256,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Graham by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 371,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,990,000 after acquiring an additional 20,629 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Graham during the first quarter worth $857,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Graham by 31.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 30,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,219,000 after purchasing an additional 7,179 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graham by 175.4% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 62.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graham Price Performance

Graham stock opened at $920.19 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $826.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $772.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.57. Graham Holdings has a 1 year low of $613.39 and a 1 year high of $972.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 1.11.

Graham Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 17th were paid a dividend of $1.72 per share. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 17th. Graham’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Graham from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Graham Profile

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.