MSH Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,096 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,037,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake 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 worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,542 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Strategic Education by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 46,038 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $4,301,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.83, for a total value of $3,116,374.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 140,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,723,690.23. This trade represents a 18.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie acquired 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $81.80 per share, for a total transaction of $49,080.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $501,843. This trade represents a 10.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,332 shares of company stock valued at $3,825,169. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on STRA. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Tuesday. 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 note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th.

Strategic Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STRA traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.07. 154,754 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 151,799. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $85.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.36. Strategic Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.28 and a twelve month high of $123.62. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.18 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given 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 yield of 3.00%. Strategic Education's payout ratio is 51.39%.

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.