MSH Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 11,096 Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 11,096 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,037,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 8,113 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Strategic Education by 9.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,542 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 46,038 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,301,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Strategic Education Trading Up 1.7 %

STRA stock opened at $78.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $86.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.61. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.28 and a 12 month high of $123.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly 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). Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on STRA. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $5,073,672.36. This trade represents a 2.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 6,025 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 transaction of $589,425.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,998,189.48. This represents a 6.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,332 shares of company stock valued at $3,825,169 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.