QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,557 Shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,557 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Scholastic were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Scholastic by 18.1% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,120,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,744,000 after buying an additional 171,775 shares during the last quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Scholastic by 32.7% in the 2nd quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 264,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,384,000 after acquiring an additional 65,120 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Scholastic by 744.3% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 65,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after acquiring an additional 57,852 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Scholastic by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 488,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,319,000 after purchasing an additional 56,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Scholastic by 45.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 182,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 56,647 shares in the last quarter. 82.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scholastic Price Performance

SCHL opened at $26.64 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.92. Scholastic Co. has a 52-week low of $23.69 and a 52-week high of $41.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $749.65 million, a P/E ratio of 47.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported ($2.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.48) by $0.35. Scholastic had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 4.32%. The company had revenue of $237.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.20) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Scholastic Co. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Scholastic’s payout ratio is currently 142.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Scholastic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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.