Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $557,000 Stock Holdings in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,960 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Strategic Education by 76.7% in 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 last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the third quarter worth $5,635,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 6.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 890,133 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $82,382,000 after purchasing an additional 50,980 shares during the period. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education in the 4th quarter worth about $4,625,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 334.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,961 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,513,000 after acquiring an additional 29,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on STRA shares. Barrington Research cut their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,723,690.23. This trade represents 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Strategic Education Price Performance

STRA stock opened at $80.53 on Friday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.62 and a 12 month high of $123.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $96.33 and its 200 day moving average is $94.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10). Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

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.