Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc lessened its stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 69.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 903 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 2,019 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $84,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Strategic Education by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 46,038 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,301,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,432 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in Strategic Education by 174.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 12,703 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 8,067 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Strategic Education by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,998,189.48. The trade was a 6.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $3,116,374.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at $13,723,690.23. This trade represents a 18.51 % decrease in their position. 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. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Strategic Education Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of STRA opened at $79.97 on Wednesday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.43 and a twelve month high of $123.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $93.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STRA has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barrington Research lowered their price objective on Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Strategic Education 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.