Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz Sells 7,598 Shares

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 7,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.97, for a total value of $607,612.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 58,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,683,203.14. The trade was a 11.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of Strategic Education stock opened at $79.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.56. Strategic Education Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.17 and a 52-week high of $93.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.87.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $1.74 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 return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 9.98%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is 44.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Strategic Education presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.33.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 155.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 234,719 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $20,188,000 after acquiring an additional 142,915 shares during the period. Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter worth $1,175,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 158.3% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 25,438 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 15,588 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 56.8% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 262,035 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $22,307,000 after acquiring an additional 94,955 shares during the period. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 3.3% in the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,524,317 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $129,765,000 after purchasing an additional 48,486 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.