Inspire Investing LLC Purchases 675 Shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,222 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 675 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Scholastic were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Scholastic by 16.4% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 306,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,540,000 after buying an additional 43,199 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Scholastic during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,295,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Scholastic by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 430,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,237,000 after acquiring an additional 20,961 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Scholastic by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 64,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 22,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 24.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 5,299 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of SCHL opened at $31.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $898.04 million, a P/E ratio of 21.66 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.40 and its 200 day moving average is $34.48. Scholastic Co. has a 12-month low of $28.47 and a 12-month high of $41.79.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.66 by ($0.93). The company had revenue of $474.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $552.50 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 0.76%. On average, analysts expect that Scholastic Co. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

Insider Activity at Scholastic

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th.

Scholastic Company Profile

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.