Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Cuts Stake in Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,137 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Graham were worth $873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Insight Inv LLC boosted its position in shares of Graham by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Graham by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Graham by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Graham by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 545 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Graham by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 8,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,995,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 62.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graham Trading Up 2.0 %

GHC traded up $15.32 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $794.16. The company had a trading volume of 13,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,062. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $729.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $724.91. Graham Holdings has a 52 week low of $563.39 and a 52 week high of $797.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Graham (NYSE:GHC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $11.24 earnings per share for the quarter. Graham had a return on equity of 5.39% and a net margin of 6.12%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter.

Graham Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be paid a $1.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Graham’s payout ratio is 11.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graham news, Director Anne M. Mulcahy bought 135 shares of Graham stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $745.07 per share, for a total transaction of $100,584.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $493,236.34. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 20.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Graham from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th.

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.