Allianz Asset Management GmbH Grows Holdings in John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in John Wiley & Sons by 32.6%, owning approximately $7.21 million in shares after acquiring an additional 39,710 shares in the first quarter.
• John Wiley & Sons recently launched a $250 million share repurchase program to buy back up to 10.7% of its stock, indicating the board's belief in the stock's value.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.355 per share, reflecting a 3.58% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 92.81%.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY - Free Report) by 32.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 161,681 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 39,710 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.30% of John Wiley & Sons worth $7,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,349 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 21,294 shares of the company's stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of John Wiley & Sons by 35.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in John Wiley & Sons by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in John Wiley & Sons by 686.1% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. 73.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised John Wiley & Sons from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st.

John Wiley & Sons Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of WLY stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $38.94. 78,613 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 472,237. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $40.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.01. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.50 and a 12-month high of $53.96. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 17th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.10. John Wiley & Sons had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 27.42%. The company had revenue of $442.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $435.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that John Wiley & Sons, Inc. will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

John Wiley & Sons Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.355 per share. This is an increase from John Wiley & Sons's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. John Wiley & Sons's payout ratio is presently 92.81%.

John Wiley & Sons declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, June 26th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

John Wiley & Sons Profile

John Wiley & Sons, Inc engages in the provision of research and learning materials. It operates through the following segments: Research, Learning, and Held for Sale or Sold. The Research segment consists of research publishing and research solutions. The Learning segment includes academic and professional reporting lines and consists of publishing and related knowledge solutions.