First Trust Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,296,208 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 241,147 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 5.02% of Perdoceo Education worth $87,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PRDO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 227.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Perdoceo Education by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Perdoceo Education by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education in the fourth quarter worth $172,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PRDO shares. StockNews.com raised Perdoceo Education from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of Perdoceo Education from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Perdoceo Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PRDO opened at $24.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.45, a current ratio of 4.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Perdoceo Education Co. has a twelve month low of $17.35 and a twelve month high of $29.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.74.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 21.66%. The business had revenue of $176.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.12 million. Equities research analysts expect that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perdoceo Education

In other news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 38,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $961,345.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 644,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,882,199.02. This trade represents a 5.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Ashish R. Ghia sold 6,236 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $155,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 252,130 shares in the company, valued at $6,303,250. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,774,669 in the last three months. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Perdoceo Education Profile

Perdoceo Education Corporation provides postsecondary education through online, campus-based, and blended learning programs in the United States. It operates in two segments, Colorado Technical University and The American InterContinental University System. The Colorado Technical University segment offers academic programs, such as business and management, nursing, healthcare management, computer science, engineering, information systems and technology, project management, cybersecurity, and criminal justice.

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