Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Buys Shares of 324 Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 324 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in Strategic Education by 83.0% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 11,817 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 5,358 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Strategic Education by 6,377.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 178,182 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $16,459,000 after purchasing an additional 175,431 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Strategic Education during the 1st quarter worth $738,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Strategic Education by 103.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 253,390 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $23,406,000 after purchasing an additional 128,961 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Strategic Education by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,711 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Strategic Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ STRA traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $93.35. The company had a trading volume of 105,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 122,661. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.32 and a 200-day moving average of $106.81. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.57. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.44 and a 1-year high of $123.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.14. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 9.84%. The firm had revenue of $312.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Viet D. Dinh purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $95.59 per share, with a total value of $477,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,711.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on STRA. StockNews.com downgraded Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Strategic Education currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.25.

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.