Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $614,000 Stake in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,279 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,330 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.05% of Scholastic worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SCHL. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Scholastic by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Scholastic by 4,475.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 4,968 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Scholastic by 20.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the third quarter worth $354,000. Finally, Aviva PLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the third quarter worth $359,000. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scholastic Stock Performance

Shares of SCHL stock opened at $35.62 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.31 and its 200-day moving average is $38.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57 and a beta of 1.05. Scholastic Co. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $45.98.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.80). The company had revenue of $323.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.21 million. Scholastic had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 3.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.57) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Scholastic Co. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Scholastic’s payout ratio is 55.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scholastic news, EVP Iole Lucchese sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.51, for a total transaction of $13,404,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 579,247 shares in the company, valued at $19,410,566.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 18.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

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 books, eBooks, media, and interactive products through its school book clubs and fair channels, and trade channel.