Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 27,587 Shares of Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 56.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,131 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 27,587 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $1,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education during the 1st quarter worth $31,497,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in 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 valued at $123,911,000 after purchasing an additional 217,151 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 129.9% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 139,374 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $11,702,000 after purchasing an additional 78,740 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 9.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 645,235 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $54,174,000 after purchasing an additional 56,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 286.9% during the first quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,914 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,773,000 after purchasing an additional 34,048 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STRA. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Monday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Strategic Education has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.33.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $78.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $80.77 and its 200 day moving average is $82.34. Strategic Education Inc. has a one year low of $72.25 and a one year high of $104.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.63.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The health services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $319.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.40 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In related news, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 15,926 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,994.94. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson purchased 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $81.50 per share, with a total value of $154,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 104,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,487,084. This trade represents a 1.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.30% of the stock is owned by 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.