Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 11,671 Shares of Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 18.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,749 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,671 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $6,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,232,000. Wellington Grp LLC boosted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 9.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 6,657 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Strategic Education by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 82,238 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $6,822,000 after buying an additional 36,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,451,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $83.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.14. Strategic Education Inc. has a one year low of $69.70 and a one year high of $89.73.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The health services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.04). Strategic Education had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $321.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $327.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Strategic Education Inc. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STRA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research lowered Strategic Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barrington Research set a $105.00 target price on Strategic Education in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strategic Education

In other Strategic Education news, insider Christa Hokenson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 65,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,215,600. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Company Profile

Strategic Education, Inc is a publicly traded higher education services holding company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Through its primary operating subsidiaries, Strayer University and Capella University, the company delivers degree programs and professional development opportunities to working adults. Its offerings span undergraduate and graduate degrees, certificates, continuing education, and workforce training in fields such as business, technology, health services, education, and public administration.

Strayer University, with a network of physical campuses across the United States complemented by an online platform, provides associate’s through doctoral degrees designed to accommodate non-traditional students.