Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys New Holdings in Pearson, PLC $PSO

Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pearson, PLC (NYSE:PSO) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 12,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pearson by 1,798.8% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Pearson by 308.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Pearson by 43.6% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Pearson by 247.6% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 4,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Pearson by 54.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,865 shares during the last quarter. 2.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PSO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Pearson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Pearson in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Pearson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $18.00.

Pearson Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of PSO stock opened at $14.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.55. Pearson, PLC has a 52 week low of $13.27 and a 52 week high of $17.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Pearson Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.0892 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 210.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Pearson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.34%.

Pearson Company Profile

Pearson plc offers educational courseware, assessments, and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, other European countries, and internationally. The company operates through five segments: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Workforce Skills, and Higher Education.