BlackRock Inc. Invests $291.19 Million in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,800,430 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $291,189,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Strategic Education at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 62,355.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,467,702 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $117,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,352 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Strategic Education in the second quarter worth approximately $16,778,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Strategic Education by 188.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 245,296 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $20,882,000 after purchasing an additional 160,303 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Strategic Education by 115.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 216,117 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $18,588,000 after purchasing an additional 115,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,615,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Strategic Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Strategic Education has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

Strategic Education Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Strategic Education stock opened at $85.31 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $80.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.00. Strategic Education Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.70 and a 52-week high of $89.73.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The health services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.04). Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 10.46%.The business had revenue of $321.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Strategic Education Inc. will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 65,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,215,600. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.