Wells Fargo & Company MN Increases Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,603 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,935 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.16% of Strategic Education worth $3,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,044 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Strategic Education Stock Down 0.7 %

STRA stock traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $80.40. 193,629 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 152,365. Strategic Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.28 and a fifty-two week high of $123.62. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $82.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.06. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $303.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $300.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 2.99%. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Strategic Education news, Director Robert R. Grusky sold 1,494 shares of the business'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 owns 11,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $910,984.23. The trade was a 11.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $81.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,080.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,826 shares of company stock valued at $3,945,093. 3.30% of the stock is 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.