Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $11.16 Million Stock Holdings in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 120,628 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,437 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.49% of Strategic Education worth $11,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STRA. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Strategic Education by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,086 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,938 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,830 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $3,501,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 581.0% in the 3rd quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 12,435 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 10,609 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Strategic Education by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,911 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STRA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Strategic Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.00.

Strategic Education Price Performance

STRA stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $95.78. 120,755 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,128. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.43. Strategic Education, Inc. has a one year low of $85.11 and a one year high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The health services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $305.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.62 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Strategic Education's payout ratio is 45.71%.

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.