Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Buys 383 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 394.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 480 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STRA. Marshfield Associates boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 0.5% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 1,829,622 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $169,332,000 after buying an additional 9,001 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 890,133 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $82,382,000 after purchasing an additional 50,980 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,274 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $51,956,000 after purchasing an additional 28,082 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 461,012 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $42,667,000 after buying an additional 10,084 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Strategic Education by 76.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $36,941,000 after buying an additional 173,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of Strategic Education stock opened at $79.99 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.43 and a 52 week high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Strategic Education news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total transaction of $3,116,374.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at $13,723,690.23. This represents a 18.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie bought 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $81.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,135 shares in the company, valued at $501,843. This represents a 10.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,332 shares of company stock worth $3,825,169 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on STRA shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barrington Research cut their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

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.