Graham Holdings Company $GHC Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

Key Points

• State of Alaska reduced its Graham Holdings stake by 10.5% in the third quarter, selling 1,540 shares and retaining 13,112 shares valued at approximately $14.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.16% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Graham received a consensus “Strong Buy” rating, while recent quarterly results exceeded expectations with earnings of $19.46 per share and revenue of $1.30 billion.
• Graham shares rose 0.6% to $1,193.41, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.88 per share, equivalent to a $7.52 annualized payout and a 0.6% yield.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its position in shares of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC - Free Report) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,112 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,540 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned about 0.31% of Graham worth $14,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GHC. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graham by 551.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,938,000 after purchasing an additional 7,957 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Graham by 8.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 92,505 shares of the company's stock worth $97,802,000 after buying an additional 7,582 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Graham by 43.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,765,000 after buying an additional 4,769 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. lifted its holdings in Graham by 103.3% in the first quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 9,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,674,000 after buying an additional 4,650 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Graham in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,554,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on GHC. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graham from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Graham in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Graham from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy".

Graham Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Graham stock traded up $7.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1,193.41. 13,669 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,557. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.70. Graham Holdings Company has a 1-year low of $933.88 and a 1-year high of $1,262.34. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,155.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,143.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

Graham (NYSE:GHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $19.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $14.83 by $4.63. Graham had a net margin of 10.69% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion.

Graham Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. Graham's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.06%.

About Graham

Graham Holdings Company NYSE: GHC is a diversified education and media company formerly known as The Washington Post Company. The company changed its name in 2013 after selling The Washington Post newspaper to an entity controlled by Jeff Bezos. Today, Graham Holdings operates through a range of businesses in education, media, health care and other industries.

Its largest operating business is Kaplan, which provides educational services, professional training, test preparation, higher education programs and learning products to students, institutions and businesses.

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