Two Sigma Investments LP Lowers Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Two Sigma Investments LP lessened its stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 56.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,165 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 11,883 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Strategic Education were worth $856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 30,820 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $2,879,000 after buying an additional 7,340 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Strategic Education by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 15,423 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 4,753 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Strategic Education by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,732 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Strategic Education by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 390,539 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $36,484,000 after purchasing an additional 29,772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on STRA shares. Truist Financial set a $105.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research note 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 company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price target 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie purchased 600 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $81.80 per share, with a total value of $49,080.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $501,843. This represents a 10.84% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert R. Grusky sold 1,494 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.27, for a total transaction of $119,923.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,349 shares in the company, valued at $910,984.23. This represents a 11.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of STRA opened at $89.41 on Friday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.28 and a twelve month high of $121.60. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.52. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $84.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.53.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.29. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The business had revenue of $303.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict 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, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

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.

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