PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,009 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew 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 worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Strategic Education by 19.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 43,755 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,050,000 after purchasing an additional 7,203 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Strategic Education by 1,337.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,495 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 7,904 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Strategic Education by 76.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $36,941,000 after purchasing an additional 173,225 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,628 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $11,164,000 after purchasing an additional 12,437 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Strategic Education

In related news, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.21, for a total transaction of $119,368.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 61,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,672.36. This represents a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 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 value of $3,116,374.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 140,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,723,690.23. The trade was a 18.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,332 shares of company stock valued at $3,825,169 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

NASDAQ:STRA opened at $82.37 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. Strategic Education, Inc. has a one year low of $78.43 and a one year high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $311.46 million during 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 research analysts expect that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.39%.

About Strategic Education

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.