Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,793,685 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,421 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.37% of Strategic Education worth $260,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Strategic Education by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 8,113 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 9.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Strategic Education by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 46,038 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,301,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP increased its stake in Strategic Education by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 12,771 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Strategic Education news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total transaction of $589,425.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,998,189.48. This trade represents a 6.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $3,116,374.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at $13,723,690.23. This represents a 18.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,332 shares of company stock worth $3,825,169 over the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Strategic Education Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of STRA opened at $81.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.43 and a 52-week high of $123.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.50.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS 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 given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

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.