Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $1.71 Million in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 18,278 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,708,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of Strategic Education as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position 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 valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STRA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Strategic Education from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of 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 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at $13,723,690.23. The trade was a 18.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total transaction of $589,425.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,998,189.48. This represents a 6.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,826 shares of company stock valued at $3,945,093. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of STRA stock traded up $0.55 on Wednesday, hitting $88.36. The stock had a trading volume of 315,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,094. The company's 50 day moving average price is $81.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.83. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.28 and a 1 year high of $123.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.52.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $303.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.67 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.28%.

Strategic Education 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.