Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.02 Million in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of STRA. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 155.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 396,049 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $29,803,000 after purchasing an additional 241,168 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Strategic Education by 6,377.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 178,182 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $16,459,000 after buying an additional 175,431 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al grew its stake in Strategic Education by 160.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 38,471 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,895,000 after buying an additional 23,673 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,723,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Strategic Education in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,659,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of Strategic Education stock opened at $100.65 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.96 and a 200-day moving average of $93.74. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.53 and a 1-year high of $111.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.50.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The health services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.34. Strategic Education had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 5.52%. The company had revenue of $302.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.76%.

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In related news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,886,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 12,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.99, for a total transaction of $1,230,591.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,488,850.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 3,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $356,262.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,886,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on STRA. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $104.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.25.

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.