Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 74,170 Shares of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. $WLY

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has reduced its stake in John Wiley & Sons, Inc. by 58.4%, now owning approximately 52,742 shares valued at $2.35 million.
• Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment.
• John Wiley & Sons reported earnings per share of $0.49 for the last quarter, which was below the analysts' estimate of $0.50, and has set its FY 2026 guidance between 3.900-4.350 EPS.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY - Free Report) by 58.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,742 shares of the company's stock after selling 74,170 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.10% of John Wiley & Sons worth $2,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 35.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 222,972 shares of the company's stock worth $9,936,000 after buying an additional 5,901 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in John Wiley & Sons during the first quarter worth about $880,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 440,272 shares of the company's stock worth $19,244,000 after buying an additional 43,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 33,174 shares of the company's stock worth $1,450,000 after buying an additional 11,839 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.94% of the company's stock.

John Wiley & Sons Stock Performance

Shares of WLY traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 613,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 344,236. The company has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.67. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $53.96.

John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $396.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $375.00 million. John Wiley & Sons had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 5.82%.John Wiley & Sons's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. John Wiley & Sons has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.900-4.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that John Wiley & Sons, Inc. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

John Wiley & Sons declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, June 26th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 10.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

John Wiley & Sons Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were given a $0.355 dividend. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from John Wiley & Sons's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. John Wiley & Sons's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of John Wiley & Sons from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 6th.

About John Wiley & Sons

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.