American Century Companies Inc. Buys New Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,720 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,297,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 83.0% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 11,817 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 5,358 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the second quarter worth $1,357,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Strategic Education in the first quarter worth $738,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Strategic Education by 103.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 253,390 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $23,406,000 after buying an additional 128,961 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Strategic Education by 78.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,396 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 3,248 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Price Performance

STRA opened at $92.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.70. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.43 and a 1 year high of $123.62. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Strategic Education’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is currently 56.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STRA. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased 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 note on Thursday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $132.25.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, Director Viet D. Dinh bought 5,000 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $95.59 per share, with a total value of $477,950.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,020 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,711.80. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.