Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC) Shares Acquired by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC - Free Report) by 530.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,575 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,008 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.08% of Graham worth $3,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GHC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Graham by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 31 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graham by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 144 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Graham by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 182 shares of the company's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graham during the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in Graham in the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Graham from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Graham Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Graham stock traded down $9.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $957.19. 96,618 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,143. The firm has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.62. Graham Holdings Company has a 1 year low of $683.00 and a 1 year high of $1,015.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $945.71 and its 200 day moving average is $929.85.

Graham (NYSE:GHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $11.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.29 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Graham had a return on equity of 6.80% and a net margin of 12.99%.

Graham Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 17th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Graham's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.05%.

About Graham

Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company in the United States and internationally. It provides test preparation services and materials; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global; operations support services for online courses and programs; training and test preparation services for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates colleges, business school, higher education institution, and an online learning institution.