The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $443,000 Stake in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its position in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,481 shares of the company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Scholastic were worth $443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Scholastic by 45.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 182,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,478,000 after buying an additional 56,647 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Scholastic by 62.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 67,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after buying an additional 25,958 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP raised its position in shares of Scholastic by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 32,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 8,903 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Scholastic by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 119,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,254,000 after buying an additional 45,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Scholastic by 63.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 5,991 shares in the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Scholastic

In related news, EVP Iole Lucchese purchased 1,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.49 per share, with a total value of $50,430.46. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 74,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,264,309.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Scholastic news, EVP Iole Lucchese bought 1,654 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.49 per share, with a total value of $50,430.46. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,264,309.36. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Warwick Peter bought 1,674 shares of Scholastic stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.46 per share, for a total transaction of $50,990.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,178,470.54. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 18.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Scholastic Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Scholastic stock opened at $26.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $767.05 million, a PE ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.13 and its 200 day moving average is $33.29. Scholastic Co. has a 1 year low of $25.54 and a 1 year high of $41.79.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($2.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.48) by $0.35. The company had revenue of $237.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.49 million. Scholastic had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 4.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.20) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Scholastic 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.