Insider Selling: Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) CAO Sells $12,376.26 in Stock

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE:BNED) CAO Gary Luster sold 1,066 shares of Barnes & Noble Education stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.61, for a total transaction of $12,376.26. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 31,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,753.74. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Barnes & Noble Education Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Barnes & Noble Education stock traded down $0.27 on Tuesday, reaching $12.26. The company had a trading volume of 241,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,999. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.71. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc has a 52-week low of $5.90 and a 52-week high of $14.75. The firm has a market cap of $424.69 million, a PE ratio of 26.09 and a beta of 1.29.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 9th. The specialty retailer reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.03. Barnes & Noble Education had a net margin of 0.98% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm had revenue of $267.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.55 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Barnes & Noble Education, Inc will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barnes & Noble Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th.

Institutional Trading of Barnes & Noble Education

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Barnes & Noble Education by 261.1% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,972 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Barnes & Noble Education by 205.5% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 1,412.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 5,733 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education in the 1st quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education during the second quarter worth about $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Barnes & Noble Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Northland Securities set a $18.50 target price on Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Barnes & Noble Education to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Barnes & Noble Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barnes & Noble Education currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.25.

Barnes & Noble Education Company Profile

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc (NYSE: BNED) is a leading provider of educational products and services to the higher education community. The company operates retail campus bookstores under Barnes & Noble College, offering course materials, general merchandise, and digital content. In addition, Barnes & Noble Education delivers educational technology solutions through its digital learning platform and supplemental courseware.

Originally part of Barnes & Noble, Inc, the company completed its spin-off and initial public offering in February 2015 to focus exclusively on college retail and digital learning.