KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $701,000 Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 7,500 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $701,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of STRA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Strategic Education during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Strategic Education by 394.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Strategic Education in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 53.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Strategic Education Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of STRA stock opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $91.24 and its 200 day moving average is $92.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.43 and a 12 month high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. On average, equities analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is presently 51.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie purchased 600 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $81.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,843. This trade represents a 10.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,756 shares in the company, valued at $7,998,189.48. This trade represents a 6.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,332 shares of company stock worth $3,825,169 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

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.