Lizette Benedi Herraiz Sells 7,598 Shares of Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 7,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.97, for a total transaction of $607,612.06. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 58,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,683,203.14. The trade was a 11.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Strategic Education Price Performance

STRA opened at $80.53 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.56. Strategic Education Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.17 and a 1-year high of $93.45.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $322.29 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 8.75%. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.28%.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STRA. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Strategic Education by 62,355.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,467,702 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $117,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,352 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Strategic Education by 188.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 245,296 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $20,882,000 after purchasing an additional 160,303 shares during the period. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 155.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 234,719 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $20,188,000 after purchasing an additional 142,915 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 115.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 216,117 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $18,588,000 after purchasing an additional 115,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,615,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Strategic Education presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.33.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.