Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 194 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,645 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 194 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Strategic Education during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. CWM LLC grew its position in Strategic Education by 2,650.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 330 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Strategic Education during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Strategic Education during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Strategic Education by 32.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 984 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Viet D. Dinh bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $95.59 per share, with a total value of $477,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,711.80. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

STRA opened at $96.50 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.57. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.87 and a 1-year high of $123.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $312.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.16 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 56.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STRA. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.25.

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.