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

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,874 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,180 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Strategic Education worth $3,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of STRA. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Strategic Education by 6.8% in 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 period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 205 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Strategic Education by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 46,038 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $4,301,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 12,771 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of Strategic Education stock traded down $0.86 on Friday, reaching $77.79. 220,770 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,382. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $87.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.81. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.20 and a 1-year high of $123.62. The company has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.10). Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.18 million. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Strategic Education's payout ratio is currently 51.39%.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In related news, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie acquired 600 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $81.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $501,843. This represents a 10.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total transaction of $3,116,374.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,723,690.23. The trade was a 18.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,332 shares of company stock valued at $3,825,169 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on STRA. StockNews.com lowered shares of Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barrington Research dropped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Strategic Education Profile

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.