Marshfield Associates Cuts Stock Holdings in Strategic Education Inc. $STRA

Marshfield Associates lowered its position in shares of Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,585,588 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 224,516 shares during the quarter. Strategic Education makes up about 2.4% of Marshfield Associates’ holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Marshfield Associates owned 0.07% of Strategic Education worth $136,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 1.4% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,367 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Strategic Education by 85.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 387 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,460 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,827 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Strategic Education by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,764 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STRA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Daniel Wayne Jackson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.37, for a total value of $1,070,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,244,907.52. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Robert S. Silberman purchased 718 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $80.82 per share, with a total value of $58,028.76. Following the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 319,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,851,893.40. The trade was a 0.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 59,438 shares of company stock valued at $4,605,016 over the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ STRA opened at $79.26 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.56. Strategic Education Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.17 and a fifty-two week high of $93.45.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.27. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 9.98%.The business had revenue of $311.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $322.29 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Strategic Education Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.28%.

About Strategic Education

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.