Raymond Karl Mcdonnell Sells 31,855 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Stock

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at $13,723,690.23. This trade represents a 18.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Strategic Education Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $80.53 on Friday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.62 and a 52-week high of $123.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.10). Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The company had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.18 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Institutional Trading of Strategic Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,258,680 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $117,586,000 after acquiring an additional 20,456 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Strategic Education by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 48,459 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,527,000 after buying an additional 7,926 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Strategic Education by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,425 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in Strategic Education by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 30,820 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,879,000 after buying an additional 7,340 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Strategic Education by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 589,053 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $55,029,000 after buying an additional 34,608 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STRA has been the topic of several research reports. Barrington Research lowered their target price on Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $122.25.

About Strategic Education

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.