John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY) Shares Bought by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in John Wiley & Sons, Inc. by 169.8%, acquiring 174,367 shares, bringing its total ownership to 277,052 shares valued at $12.35 million.
• John Wiley & Sons recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.355 per share, a slight increase from its previous dividend, leading to an annualized dividend of $1.42 and a yield of 3.6%.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded John Wiley & Sons from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating positive expectations for the company's future performance.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE:WLY - Free Report) by 169.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 277,052 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 174,367 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.51% of John Wiley & Sons worth $12,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 686.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in John Wiley & Sons in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in John Wiley & Sons in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in John Wiley & Sons by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.94% of the company's stock.

John Wiley & Sons Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WLY traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.54. 285,316 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 442,585. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.50 and a 12-month high of $53.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84 and a beta of 0.96.

John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 17th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $442.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $435.00 million. John Wiley & Sons had a return on equity of 27.42% and a net margin of 5.02%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities research 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.355 per share. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. This is a positive change from John Wiley & Sons's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. John Wiley & Sons's dividend payout ratio is 92.81%.

John Wiley & Sons announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, June 26th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 10.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.