Lizette Benedi Herraiz Sells 1,452 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.21, for a total value of $119,368.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 61,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,073,672.36. This trade represents a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Strategic Education stock opened at $79.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. Strategic Education, Inc. has a one year low of $78.43 and a one year high of $123.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $94.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.05.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. On average, analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on STRA shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barrington Research reduced their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of STRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 76.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $36,941,000 after purchasing an additional 173,225 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,715,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 207.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 175,141 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $16,362,000 after buying an additional 118,151 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 202.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,765 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $10,720,000 after buying an additional 76,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 618,286 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $57,760,000 after buying an additional 70,743 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.