Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Takes Position in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 8,900 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Strategic Education by 76.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 399,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $36,941,000 after purchasing an additional 173,225 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Strategic Education during the 3rd quarter worth $5,635,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Strategic Education by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 890,133 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $82,382,000 after buying an additional 50,980 shares in the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. purchased a new stake in Strategic Education in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,625,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,793,685 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $260,986,000 after acquiring an additional 45,421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Strategic Education news, General Counsel Lizette Benedi Herraiz sold 1,452 shares of Strategic Education stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.21, for a total transaction of $119,368.92. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 61,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,073,672.36. The trade was a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Raymond Karl Mcdonnell sold 31,855 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 140,281 shares in the company, valued at $13,723,690.23. The trade was a 18.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,332 shares of company stock worth $3,825,169. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barrington Research decreased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $114.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Strategic Education Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STRA opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.43 and a twelve month high of $123.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $91.24 and its 200 day moving average is $92.72. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $311.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.18 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 10.44%. Equities research analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Strategic Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 51.39%.

Strategic Education Company 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.