11,000 Shares in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $278,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Strategic Education by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,787 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $308,000. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of Strategic Education stock opened at $100.65 on Thursday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.53 and a 52-week high of $111.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.96 and a 200-day moving average of $93.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.57.

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

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.76%.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Strategic Education news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the completion of 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. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet raised shares of Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.25.

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.