Amundi Increases Holdings in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Amundi raised its stake in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA - Free Report) by 174.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,703 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,067 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.05% of Strategic Education worth $1,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Strategic Education during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Strategic Education by 394.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Strategic Education during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,044 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael A. Mcrobbie acquired 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $81.80 per share, with a total value of $49,080.00. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,332 shares of company stock valued at $3,825,169. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on STRA. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective 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. Barrington Research cut their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 Trading Up 0.4 %

Strategic Education stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $82.37. The stock had a trading volume of 466,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,932. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $92.85 and its 200 day moving average is $93.18. Strategic Education, Inc. has a one year low of $78.43 and a one year high of $123.62.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. As a group, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Strategic Education's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.