Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $2.88 Million Stock Holdings in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 29.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,843 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 12,912 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Strategic Education were worth $2,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STRA. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Strategic Education by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,960 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 1,337.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,495 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 7,904 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 173,225 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Strategic Education by 11.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,628 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $11,164,000 after purchasing an additional 12,437 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education in the third quarter valued at approximately $702,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie purchased 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $81.80 per share, with a total value of $49,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $501,843. This represents a 10.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.21, for a total value of $119,368.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,332 shares of company stock worth $3,825,169. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barrington Research reduced their target price on Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th.

Strategic Education Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of STRA stock opened at $84.49 on Thursday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.43 and a 12-month high of $123.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.19 and a 200-day moving average of $92.94. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, 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 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.18 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.