Graham (NYSE:GHC) Sets New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Graham Holdings Company's stock price reached a new 52-week high of $1,145.96 during mid-day trading, demonstrating strong market performance with a last traded price of $1,136.88.
• The company reported $14.33 earnings per share for the last quarter, significantly surpassing the consensus estimate of $10.15 and achieving a revenue of $1.22 billion.
• Institutional investors have notably increased their stakes in Graham, with 93.16% of the stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong confidence in the company's future.

Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $1,145.96 and last traded at $1,136.88, with a volume of 1405 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $1,138.85.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Graham's payout ratio is currently 4.62%.

Graham Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,013.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $967.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 0.89.

Graham (NYSE:GHC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $14.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.15 by $4.18. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Graham had a return on equity of 6.79% and a net margin of 14.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Graham by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 135,173 shares of the company's stock worth $127,897,000 after acquiring an additional 6,021 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graham by 58.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 93,253 shares of the company's stock worth $88,233,000 after acquiring an additional 34,524 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Graham by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Graham by 91.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 43,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,350,000 after purchasing an additional 20,932 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Graham by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,936,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Graham Company Profile

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.