JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 76.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 399,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 173,225 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.62% of Strategic Education worth $36,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of STRA. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Strategic Education by 11.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,628 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $11,164,000 after purchasing an additional 12,437 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Strategic Education by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,907 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the third quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Strategic Education by 5.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,274 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $51,956,000 after acquiring an additional 28,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:STRA opened at $91.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.69 and a 200 day moving average of $97.72. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.11 and a 52 week high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The health services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.35. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The firm had revenue of $305.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.00.

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.