Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) General Counsel Sells $119,368.92 in Stock

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.21, for a total transaction of $119,368.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Strategic Education Stock Down 0.1 %

STRA stock opened at $79.91 on Thursday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.43 and a 52 week high of $123.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.48 and a 200 day moving average of $93.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,793,685 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $260,986,000 after purchasing an additional 45,421 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 1,836,491 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $171,565,000 after purchasing an additional 6,869 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,258,680 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $117,586,000 after purchasing an additional 20,456 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $82,382,000 after purchasing an additional 50,980 shares during the period. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 618,286 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $57,760,000 after purchasing an additional 70,743 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.