Marshfield Associates Has $171.57 Million Stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Marshfield Associates increased its stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,836,491 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,869 shares during the period. Strategic Education comprises about 3.7% of Marshfield Associates' investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Marshfield Associates owned approximately 7.47% of Strategic Education worth $171,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 394.8% in the 4th 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 period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 809.1% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

STRA traded down $0.29 on Thursday, hitting $81.29. The company had a trading volume of 213,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,455. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58. The company's fifty day moving average price is $82.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.93. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.28 and a 1-year high of $123.62.

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

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Strategic Education's payout ratio is 51.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total transaction of $3,116,374.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,723,690.23. The trade was a 18.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 value of $119,923.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $910,984.23. This represents a 11.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,826 shares of company stock worth $3,945,093. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STRA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Strategic Education from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Strategic Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

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.