Graham (NYSE:GHC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 18,230 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 19% from the previous session’s volume of 15,282 shares.The stock last traded at $948.37 and had previously closed at $938.85.

Graham Trading Up 0.7 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $927.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $880.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Graham Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Graham’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.37%.

Insider Activity at Graham

In related news, CAO Marcel A. Snyman sold 159 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $881.30, for a total value of $140,126.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $389,534.60. This represents a 26.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 20.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GHC. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Graham during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,517,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Graham by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graham by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Graham in the fourth quarter worth about $389,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Graham by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,136,000 after buying an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

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.