AQR Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Strategic Education Inc. by 15.0%, owning approximately 0.35% of the company, valued at $7.14 million after selling nearly 15,000 shares.
• Research firms have issued mixed ratings for the stock, with Wall Street Zen downgrading it to “hold,” while Barrington Research maintained an “outperform” rating with a target price of $105.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 5th, representing an annual yield of 2.8%.

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,993 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 14,981 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.35% of Strategic Education worth $7,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Significant Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Strategic Education by 17.3% in the first quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 105,000.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,153 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 3,150 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Strategic Education by 36.7% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its position in Strategic Education by 16.0% in the first quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,111 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.33.

Strategic Education Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:STRA traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $82.82. The stock had a trading volume of 199,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,964. Strategic Education Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.25 and a twelve month high of $104.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.69.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $321.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $322.84 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 7.52%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.90%.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In related news, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.69, for a total value of $57,183.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,994.94. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson purchased 1,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $81.50 per share, for a total transaction of $154,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,487,084. The trade was a 1.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

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.