Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) Position Increased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 291.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,228 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,699 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.15% of Scholastic worth $1,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SCHL. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Scholastic during the third quarter valued at about $46,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in Scholastic during the third quarter valued at about $243,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in Scholastic during the second quarter valued at about $279,000. Finally, BOKF NA bought a new position in Scholastic during the second quarter valued at about $299,000. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Scholastic Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SCHL opened at $18.97 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $533.08 million, a P/E ratio of 33.88 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.20 and its 200-day moving average is $28.30. Scholastic Co. has a 52-week low of $18.78 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.48). Scholastic had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 4.32%. Equities research analysts predict that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.