AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 36,177 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 531.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,980 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,177 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Strategic Education worth $4,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Strategic Education by 103.6% during 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. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the second quarter worth $12,231,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 64.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 251,778 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $27,862,000 after acquiring an additional 99,100 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 3.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,447,810 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $160,212,000 after acquiring an additional 48,462 shares during the period. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in 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 worth $123,260,000 after purchasing an additional 45,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Strategic Education news, Director Viet D. Dinh purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $95.59 per share, for a total transaction of $477,950.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,711.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on STRA shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.25.

Strategic Education Price Performance

NASDAQ STRA opened at $88.73 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.94 and a 12 month high of $123.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $95.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.32.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.14. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $312.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Strategic Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.87%.

Strategic Education Company Profile

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.