Pearson plc (NYSE:PSO) Shares Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Pearson plc (NYSE:PSO - Free Report) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,797 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 53,744 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Pearson were worth $2,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Pearson by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 844,228 shares of the company's stock worth $13,609,000 after acquiring an additional 279,369 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Pearson by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 705,622 shares of the company's stock worth $11,375,000 after acquiring an additional 288,114 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in Pearson by 135.5% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 495,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,992,000 after buying an additional 285,234 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Pearson during the fourth quarter valued at $4,780,000. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in Pearson by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 200,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,228,000 after buying an additional 12,515 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on PSO. National Bankshares set a $18.00 price target on shares of Pearson in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pearson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Pearson in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock.

Pearson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PSO traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.20. The company had a trading volume of 764,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 461,594. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.01. Pearson plc has a fifty-two week low of $11.78 and a fifty-two week high of $17.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Pearson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were given a $0.2092 dividend. This is a positive change from Pearson's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. Pearson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.81%.

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.