Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 125 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 46.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 395 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Strategic Education in the fourth quarter valued at $13,511,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 103.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 253,390 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $23,406,000 after buying an additional 128,961 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 4.0% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,183,831 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $123,260,000 after buying an additional 45,870 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at about $1,357,000. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the second quarter worth about $1,000,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Viet D. Dinh acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $95.59 per share, with a total value of $477,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,711.80. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on STRA. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.25.

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.4 %

STRA opened at $93.30 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $101.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.42. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.43 and a 1-year high of $123.62. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.14. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business had revenue of $312.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.87%.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides education services through campus-based and online post-secondary education, and programs to develop job-ready skills. The company operates through U.S. Higher Education, Australia/New Zealand, and Education Technology Services segments. It operates Strayer University that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, criminal justice, education, health services, information technology, and public administration at physical campuses located in the eastern United States, as well as through online; non-degree web and mobile application development courses through Hackbright Academy and Devmountain; and MBA online through its Jack Welch Management Institute.