Bastion Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 11,866 Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,866 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,108,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Strategic Education by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,960 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 1,337.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,495 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 7,904 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $36,941,000 after acquiring an additional 173,225 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,628 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $11,164,000 after acquiring an additional 12,437 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Strategic Education by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 272,253 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $25,434,000 after acquiring an additional 12,961 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie purchased 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $81.80 per share, with a total value of $49,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $501,843. This trade represents a 10.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,723,690.23. This represents a 18.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,826 shares of company stock worth $3,945,093 in the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial set a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Strategic Education Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:STRA traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $88.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 127,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,010. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.64 and a 200-day moving average of $90.85. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.28 and a 1 year high of $123.41.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $303.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.67 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Strategic Education's payout ratio is 51.28%.

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.