Royal Bank of Canada Decreases Stock Position in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its position in shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 58.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 268,516 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 373,326 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $22,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 88.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 294 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Strategic Education by 154.2% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 333 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Strategic Education by 85.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 305.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 616 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Strategic Education news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 65,195 shares in the company, valued at $5,215,600. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of STRA opened at $83.56 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.14. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.49. Strategic Education Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.70 and a twelve month high of $89.73.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The health services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $321.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $327.55 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 10.46%.Strategic Education’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Strategic Education Inc. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on STRA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Barrington Research set a $105.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

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.