Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 42 Shares of Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 182 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Graham were worth $159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GHC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Graham by 10.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 21,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Graham by 32.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,176,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Graham by 8.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Graham by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,190,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Graham by 358.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,916,000 after purchasing an additional 3,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Graham from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Activity

In other Graham news, CAO Marcel A. Snyman sold 159 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $881.30, for a total value of $140,126.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 442 shares in the company, valued at $389,534.60. This trade represents a 26.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 20.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Graham Stock Performance

NYSE GHC opened at $910.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $906.79 and a 200-day moving average of $859.42. Graham Holdings has a 52-week low of $683.00 and a 52-week high of $974.00.

Graham Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Graham’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.72. Graham’s dividend payout ratio is 14.10%.

Graham Profile

Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company in the United States and internationally. It provides test preparation services and materials; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global; operations support services for online courses and programs; training and test preparation services for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates colleges, business school, higher education institution, and an online learning institution.