Strategic Education Inc. $STRA Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,538 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,579 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $10,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STRA. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Strategic Education by 54.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 395 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 85.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 9.3% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,460 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 13.4% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,764 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Strategic Education news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 38,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total value of $2,926,594.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 106,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,012,116.20. This trade represents a 26.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.37, for a total value of $1,070,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,244,907.52. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.8%

Strategic Education stock opened at $78.87 on Thursday. Strategic Education Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.17 and a 52 week high of $93.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.34 and a 200-day moving average of $80.91.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $322.29 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 8.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $99.33.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.