Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Position in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,846 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.42% of Scholastic worth $3,763,000 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 stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Scholastic by 155.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 8,968 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic in the second quarter worth about $279,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Scholastic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Scholastic during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,295,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Scholastic in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $345,000. 82.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Scholastic Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:SCHL opened at $21.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.00. The company has a market capitalization of $594.06 million, a PE ratio of 37.75 and a beta of 1.07. Scholastic Co. has a 1-year low of $19.14 and a 1-year high of $40.74.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.48). Scholastic had a return on equity of 4.32% and a net margin of 1.49%. On average, equities analysts predict that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Scholastic’s payout ratio is -444.44%.

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.