Miller Global Investments LLC Takes Position in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Miller Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,553 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $526,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,175,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 155.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 234,719 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $20,188,000 after purchasing an additional 142,915 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 158.3% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 25,438 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,188,000 after buying an additional 15,588 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 56.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 262,035 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $22,307,000 after buying an additional 94,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Strategic Education during the second quarter valued at about $325,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.37, for a total value of $1,070,810.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,244,907.52. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 7,598 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.97, for a total value of $607,612.06. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 58,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,683,203.14. This represents a 11.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 59,438 shares of company stock valued at $4,605,016 in the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on STRA shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a 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. 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. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.33.

Strategic Education Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of STRA opened at $80.99 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.86. Strategic Education Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.17 and a twelve month high of $93.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.56.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

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

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.