KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $701,000 in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,500 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $701,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshfield Associates raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 0.5% in the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 1,829,622 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $169,332,000 after acquiring an additional 9,001 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Strategic Education by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 890,133 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $82,382,000 after purchasing an additional 50,980 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,274 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $51,956,000 after purchasing an additional 28,082 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 461,012 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $42,667,000 after purchasing an additional 10,084 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 76.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $36,941,000 after purchasing an additional 173,225 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Strategic Education news, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie purchased 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $81.80 per share, with a total value of $49,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,135 shares in the company, valued at $501,843. This trade represents a 10.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.21, for a total value of $119,368.92. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 61,716 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,672.36. This represents a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STRA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barrington Research lowered their target price on Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Strategic Education stock traded down $3.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $82.25. 278,813 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,602. The firm's fifty day moving average is $90.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.60. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58. Strategic Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.43 and a fifty-two week high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 7.61%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Strategic Education's payout ratio is 51.39%.

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.