Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 5,550 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,499 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 5,550 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.24% of Strategic Education worth $5,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Strategic Education in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 394.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 809.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Strategic Education by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,044 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STRA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Strategic Education from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial set a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert R. Grusky sold 1,494 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.27, for a total value of $119,923.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,349 shares in the company, valued at $910,984.23. This trade represents a 11.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.21, for a total value of $119,368.92. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 61,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,073,672.36. The trade was a 2.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Strategic Education Trading Up 2.4%

STRA stock traded up $2.07 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $89.55. 176,338 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 155,886. The firm's 50 day moving average is $83.50 and its 200 day moving average is $90.83. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.52. Strategic Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.28 and a twelve month high of $121.60.

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

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Strategic Education's payout ratio is 51.28%.

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.