State of Alaska Department of Revenue Raises Position in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,218 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned approximately 0.06% of Strategic Education worth $1,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshfield Associates boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 0.7% in the first quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 1,849,034 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $155,245,000 after buying an additional 12,543 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 17.3% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,475,831 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $123,911,000 after buying an additional 217,151 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 9.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 645,235 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $54,174,000 after buying an additional 56,182 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 6.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 423,549 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $35,561,000 after buying an additional 26,284 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the first quarter worth about $31,497,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

STRA opened at $85.36 on Friday. Strategic Education Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.25 and a 12 month high of $104.51. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.79.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.10. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 9.27%.The firm had revenue of $321.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $322.84 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on STRA shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Monday, September 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.33.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson bought 1,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $81.50 per share, for a total transaction of $154,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,136 shares in the company, valued at $8,487,084. The trade was a 1.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.69, for a total value of $57,183.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,994.94. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.