Merit Financial Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN)

Merit Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,695 shares of the company’s stock after selling 389 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC owned about 0.07% of Stride worth $3,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LRN. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Stride by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 160,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,670,000 after purchasing an additional 10,200 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Stride by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 3,474 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Stride by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 115,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,177,000 after acquiring an additional 4,828 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Stride by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Stride by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. 98.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stride Price Performance

Stride stock opened at $113.90 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.50, a current ratio of 5.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $106.47 and a 200-day moving average of $88.80. Stride, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.81 and a 52-week high of $115.42.

Stride (NYSE:LRN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.72. Stride had a return on equity of 21.23% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $551.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $504.29 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Stride, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LRN. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Stride from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Stride from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Stride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of Stride from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Stride from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Stride presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Todd Goldthwaite sold 8,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.54, for a total value of $734,883.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 85,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,786,209.32. This represents a 8.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Stride

Stride, Inc, a technology-based education service company, engages in the provision of proprietary and third-party online curriculum, software systems, and educational services in the United States and internationally. Its technology-based products and services enable clients to attract, enroll, educate, track progress, support, and facilitate individualized learning for students.