Invesco Ltd. Acquires 7,923 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 152,828 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,923 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.62% of Strategic Education worth $14,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,542 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 2,526.8% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 28,317 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,645,000 after acquiring an additional 27,239 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 397,265 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $37,113,000 after purchasing an additional 15,638 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 39,603 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $3,700,000 after purchasing an additional 6,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the 4th quarter worth about $973,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In other news, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie acquired 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $81.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,080.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $501,843. This trade represents a 10.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.21, for a total transaction of $119,368.92. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 61,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,073,672.36. This trade represents a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,332 shares of company stock worth $3,825,169. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STRA traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $80.02. The company had a trading volume of 263,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,785. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58. Strategic Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.28 and a fifty-two week high of $123.62. The business's fifty day moving average is $84.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.15.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.29. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. Equities analysts forecast that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio is 51.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STRA has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 dropped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Tuesday, April 15th.

Strategic Education Company 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.