Arizona State Retirement System Sells 148 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,154 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Strategic Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 140.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 656 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 585.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,295 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,441 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $356,262.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total transaction of $1,230,591.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,886,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of STRA stock opened at $98.11 on Friday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.53 and a 12-month high of $111.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $100.81 and a 200-day moving average of $93.16.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $302.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.48 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 5.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is presently 82.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on STRA shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.25.

About Strategic Education

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.