Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,792 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $821,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,542 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 46,038 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $4,301,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 12,771 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of STRA traded down $0.45 on Friday, reaching $83.95. 101,900 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 155,643. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.28 and a 12 month high of $121.60. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $84.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.16.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $303.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $300.67 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. Strategic Education's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

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 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio is 51.28%.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In other news, Director Robert R. Grusky sold 1,494 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $910,984.23. This represents a 11.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.