Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) Position Reduced by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lessened its stake in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 83.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 763 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 3,717 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Strategic Education were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Strategic Education in the third quarter worth about $37,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Strategic Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Strategic Education by 394.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 809.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of STRA traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $89.12. The company had a trading volume of 24,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,055. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.52. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $82.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.92. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.28 and a 1 year high of $121.60.

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

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Strategic Education's payout ratio is 51.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $589,425.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,756 shares in the company, valued at $7,998,189.48. This represents a 6.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie acquired 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $81.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $501,843. This trade represents a 10.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,826 shares of company stock valued at $3,945,093 over the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.