Swiss National Bank Increases Stock Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,038 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $4,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the third quarter worth $702,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 313,727 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $29,035,000 after purchasing an additional 20,389 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 7,676 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Strategic Education by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,660 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the third quarter valued at about $1,501,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STRA opened at $83.23 on Wednesday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a one year low of $78.43 and a one year high of $123.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10). Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.18 million. As a group, equities 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 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 51.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Strategic Education news, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie acquired 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $81.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,080.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,843. This trade represents a 10.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $3,116,374.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at $13,723,690.23. This trade represents a 18.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,332 shares of company stock valued at $3,825,169 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.