Graham Capital Management L.P. Reduces Stock Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Graham Capital Management L.P. decreased its stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 57.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,643 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 5,003 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 8,113 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,542 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Strategic Education by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 46,038 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $4,301,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 13.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.6%

Strategic Education stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $87.88. 16,861 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 170,220. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $83.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.52. Strategic Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.28 and a fifty-two week high of $121.60.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.30 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 firm had revenue of $303.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. Strategic Education's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert R. Grusky sold 1,494 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 11,349 shares in the company, valued at $910,984.23. This trade 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 at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total transaction of $589,425.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,998,189.48. This trade represents a 6.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,826 shares of company stock worth $3,945,093. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.