Marshfield Associates Purchases 9,171 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Marshfield Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,820,621 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,171 shares during the period. Strategic Education comprises about 4.5% of Marshfield Associates’ portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Marshfield Associates owned approximately 0.07% of Strategic Education worth $201,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STRA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Strategic Education by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 395 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Strategic Education by 2.6% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,199 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 1.3% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,984 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 8.7% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Strategic Education news, Director Viet D. Dinh purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $95.59 per share, for a total transaction of $477,950.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,020 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,711.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Strategic Education Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Strategic Education stock opened at $91.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.56. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.43 and a 12-month high of $123.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Strategic Education’s payout ratio is 56.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on STRA shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised Strategic Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Strategic Education in a research report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $132.25.

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.