D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 13,718 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 51.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,869 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 13,718 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Strategic Education worth $1,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Strategic Education by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Strategic Education by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 8,113 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Strategic Education by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,542 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STRA. Truist Financial set a $105.00 price target on Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th.

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of STRA opened at $87.57 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.52. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.28 and a 12-month high of $121.60.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $303.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.67 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. Analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie purchased 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $81.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,080.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $501,843. The trade was a 10.84% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $589,425.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,998,189.48. The trade was a 6.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,826 shares of company stock worth $3,945,093. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.