Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 18,278 Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,708,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Strategic Education as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STRA. Marshfield Associates raised its holdings 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 worth $169,332,000 after acquiring an additional 9,001 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 6.1% during 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $51,956,000 after purchasing an additional 28,082 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 2.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 76.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $36,941,000 after buying an additional 173,225 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on STRA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barrington Research reduced their target price on Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.21, for a total value of $119,368.92. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 61,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,073,672.36. The trade was a 2.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie acquired 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $81.80 per share, with a total value of $49,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $501,843. This trade represents a 10.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,332 shares of company stock valued at $3,825,169 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Strategic Education stock opened at $83.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.43 and a 12-month high of $123.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.78.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10). Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The business had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 51.39%.

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.