Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Raises Stock Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 207.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 175,141 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 118,151 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.71% of Strategic Education worth $16,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STRA. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Strategic Education by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,960 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 1,337.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,495 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $36,941,000 after purchasing an additional 173,225 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,628 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $11,164,000 after buying an additional 12,437 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Strategic Education by 9.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ STRA opened at $81.07 on Friday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a one year low of $78.43 and a one year high of $123.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. Equities analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In related news, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,073,672.36. This represents a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the firm’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 approximately $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 have sold 39,332 shares of company stock valued at $3,825,169 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.