Phocas Financial Corp. Sells 792 Shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Phocas Financial Corp. cut its position in shares of Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 792 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned about 0.45% of Scholastic worth $5,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 45.9% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Scholastic by 69.8% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholastic during the second quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Scholastic

In other news, Director John L. Davies sold 4,530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total value of $197,870.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,930 shares in the company, valued at $171,662.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 18.62% of the company’s stock.

Scholastic Trading Down 0.4 %

Scholastic stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.49. The company had a trading volume of 60,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 186,158. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.32. Scholastic Co. has a 12 month low of $28.22 and a 12 month high of $47.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 1.07.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.56. Scholastic had a return on equity of 7.35% and a net margin of 5.06%. The firm had revenue of $528.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.76 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Scholastic Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 30th. Scholastic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on SCHL shares. TheStreet raised Scholastic from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on Scholastic in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Scholastic Company 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.