Corton Capital Inc. Sells 19,774 Shares of Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Key Points

• Corton Capital Inc. reduced its holdings in Scholastic Corporation by 66.0%, now owning 10,188 shares valued at approximately $192,000.
• Scholastic recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, resulting in a 3.00% yield and an annualized payout of $0.80.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.57% of Scholastic's shares, with significant increases in holdings reported by firms like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and American Century Companies Inc.

Corton Capital Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL - Free Report) by 66.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,188 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,774 shares during the quarter. Corton Capital Inc.'s holdings in Scholastic were worth $192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SCHL. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Scholastic by 21.6% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 254,340 shares of the company's stock worth $4,802,000 after purchasing an additional 45,253 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Scholastic during the first quarter worth approximately $414,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in Scholastic by 508.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,194 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505 shares during the period. Peapod Lane Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Scholastic during the first quarter worth approximately $505,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Scholastic by 1.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 357,291 shares of the company's stock worth $6,746,000 after purchasing an additional 5,376 shares during the period. 82.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scholastic Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ SCHL traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $24.62. 242,347 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 347,650. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.48. Scholastic Corporation has a 1-year low of $15.77 and a 1-year high of $34.18. The firm has a market cap of $691.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -615.50 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Scholastic had a positive return on equity of 1.39% and a negative net margin of 0.12%. The business had revenue of $508.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $494.59 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Scholastic Corporation will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Scholastic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2,000.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Scholastic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th.

Scholastic Company Profile

Scholastic Corporation publishes and distributes children's books worldwide. It operates in three segments: Children's Book Publishing and Distribution, Education Solutions, and International. The Children's Book Publishing and Distribution segment engages in publication and distribution of children's print, digital, and audio books, as well as media and interactive products through its school reading events and trade channel; and operation of school-based book clubs and book fairs in the United States.