Versor Investments LP Lowers Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Versor Investments LP reduced its stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,545 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 568 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 76.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $36,941,000 after buying an additional 173,225 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,635,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 890,133 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $82,382,000 after acquiring an additional 50,980 shares during the period. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. acquired a new position in Strategic Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,625,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Strategic Education by 334.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,961 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,513,000 after purchasing an additional 29,220 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STRA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barrington Research lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.25.

Strategic Education Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $81.21 on Tuesday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.43 and a fifty-two week high of $123.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $96.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.65. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $311.46 million during 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, equities 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 will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Insider Activity

In other Strategic Education news, 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 transaction of $3,116,374.65. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,998,189.48. This trade represents a 6.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

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.