Insider Selling: Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) General Counsel Sells $238,202.16 in Stock

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 2,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.88, for a total transaction of $238,202.16. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 55,580 shares in the company, valued at $4,439,730.40. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Lizette Benedi Herraiz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 13th, Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 7,598 shares of Strategic Education stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.97, for a total transaction of $607,612.06.

Strategic Education Price Performance

NASDAQ STRA opened at $80.72 on Monday. Strategic Education Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.17 and a fifty-two week high of $93.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $81.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given 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 is presently 44.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Strategic Education

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 294 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 154.2% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 333 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 85.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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