Renaissance Technologies LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,818 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 9,220 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.88% of Strategic Education worth $20,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $36,941,000 after purchasing an additional 173,225 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter worth $15,715,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Strategic Education by 207.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 175,141 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $16,362,000 after purchasing an additional 118,151 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 890,133 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $82,382,000 after purchasing an additional 50,980 shares during the period. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,625,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.21, for a total transaction of $119,368.92. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 61,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,073,672.36. The trade was a 2.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie acquired 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $81.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,080.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $501,843. The trade was a 10.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,332 shares of company stock worth $3,825,169 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Strategic Education Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of STRA stock traded up $1.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $80.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 154,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 151,584. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.93 and a 200 day moving average of $91.44. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.28 and a 12-month high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.10). Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The firm had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Strategic Education's payout ratio is 51.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on STRA shares. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th.

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.