Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) General Counsel Sells $607,612.06 in Stock

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 7,598 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.97, for a total value of $607,612.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 58,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,683,203.14. This trade represents a 11.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STRA opened at $80.41 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $81.13 and its 200 day moving average is $80.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.56. Strategic Education Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.17 and a 52-week high of $93.45.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $322.29 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 9.98%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,175,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. grew its position in Strategic Education by 155.7% in the third quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 234,719 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $20,188,000 after acquiring an additional 142,915 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Strategic Education by 158.3% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 25,438 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 15,588 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Strategic Education by 56.8% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 262,035 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $22,307,000 after acquiring an additional 94,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Strategic Education in the second quarter valued at $325,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on STRA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $99.33.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.