Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Holdings in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,752 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,215 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Scholastic were worth $1,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCHL. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Scholastic by 125.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Scholastic during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 99.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 4,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of Scholastic by 127.7% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 14,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 8,278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Stock Performance

NASDAQ SCHL opened at $18.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Scholastic Co. has a 1-year low of $17.48 and a 1-year high of $38.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $512.56 million, a PE ratio of -101.33 and a beta of 1.10.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by $0.73. Scholastic had a negative net margin of 0.27% and a positive return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $335.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.68 million. On average, research analysts predict that Scholastic Co. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Scholastic’s payout ratio is 133.33%.

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.