Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 3,256 Shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,684 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,256 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Strategic Education worth $10,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STRA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,793,685 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $260,986,000 after buying an additional 45,421 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 1,836,491 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $171,565,000 after purchasing an additional 6,869 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Strategic Education by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,258,680 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $117,586,000 after purchasing an additional 20,456 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its holdings in Strategic Education by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 618,286 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $57,760,000 after purchasing an additional 70,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings 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 valued at $55,029,000 after purchasing an additional 34,608 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA traded down $0.70 on Monday, hitting $79.52. 141,565 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 170,631. The company's 50 day moving average price is $86.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.52. Strategic Education Inc. has a one year low of $74.28 and a one year high of $121.60.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.29. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 9.14%. The firm had revenue of $303.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert R. Grusky sold 1,494 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.27, for a total transaction of $119,923.38. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $910,984.23. The trade was a 11.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Strategic Education from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $105.00 price objective on Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

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.