Insider Selling: Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) EVP Sells 400,000 Shares of Stock

Scholastic Co. (NASDAQ:SCHL) EVP Iole Lucchese sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.51, for a total transaction of $13,404,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 579,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,410,566.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Scholastic Price Performance

NASDAQ:SCHL traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.68. 163,612 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,242. Scholastic Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.07. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61 and a beta of 1.05.

Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.80). Scholastic had a net margin of 3.16% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $323.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.57) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Scholastic Co. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scholastic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Scholastic’s payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Scholastic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scholastic

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCHL. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 1.9% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,957,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,503,000 after buying an additional 94,171 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,270,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,530,000 after buying an additional 27,184 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 21.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,934,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,265,000 after buying an additional 516,720 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 1.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,337,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,145,000 after buying an additional 22,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Scholastic by 0.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,115,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,189,000 after buying an additional 4,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

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 books, eBooks, media, and interactive products through its school book clubs and fair channels, and trade channel.