Barclays PLC Increases Position in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 291.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,228 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,699 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.15% of Scholastic worth $1,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SCHL. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scholastic during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 58.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in Scholastic during the 3rd quarter valued at about $243,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $279,000. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scholastic Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SCHL opened at $21.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $599.04 million, a PE ratio of 38.02 and a beta of 1.07. Scholastic Co. has a 52-week low of $19.14 and a 52-week high of $40.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.48). Scholastic had a return on equity of 4.32% and a net margin of 1.49%. Analysts forecast that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Scholastic’s payout ratio is currently -444.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 5th.

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.