Graham (NYSE:GHC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 19,774 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 19% from the previous session’s volume of 16,671 shares.The stock last traded at $943.96 and had previously closed at $954.19.

Graham Stock Down 2.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $919.73 and a 200-day moving average of $870.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Graham Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Graham’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graham news, CAO Marcel A. Snyman sold 159 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $881.30, for a total transaction of $140,126.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,534.60. This trade represents a 26.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 20.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graham

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GHC. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Graham in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,773,000. LPL Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graham in the 4th quarter worth $8,726,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Graham during the fourth quarter worth $8,157,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Graham by 84.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,424,000 after purchasing an additional 8,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Graham by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,988 shares in the last quarter. 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.