Royal Bank of Canada Has $55.03 Million Stock Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 589,053 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 34,608 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 2.40% of Strategic Education worth $55,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Strategic Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 394.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 809.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert R. Grusky sold 1,494 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.27, for a total transaction of $119,923.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $910,984.23. The trade was a 11.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Strategic Education 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at $13,723,690.23. This represents a 18.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,826 shares of company stock worth $3,945,093 in the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of STRA stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $87.48. 122,862 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 155,804. Strategic Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.28 and a twelve month high of $121.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.52. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $83.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.97.

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 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $303.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $300.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Strategic Education's payout ratio is 51.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.