AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 14,981 Shares of 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 stake in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 15.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,993 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 14,981 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.35% of Strategic Education worth $7,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Significant Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,150 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 4,111 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 90.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,425 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $413,000 after purchasing 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

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STRA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Monday, September 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.33.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ STRA traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, reaching $81.94. 183,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 148,835. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.50. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.69. Strategic Education Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.25 and a 12 month high of $104.51.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $321.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.84 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 9.27%.Strategic Education's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Strategic Education's payout ratio is presently 49.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In related news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson purchased 1,900 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $81.50 per share, with a total value of $154,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 104,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,487,084. The trade was a 1.86% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Thomas Waite III sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $1,300,994.94. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.