Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stake in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,084 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,007 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Perdoceo Education worth $6,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Perdoceo Education by 227.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Perdoceo Education by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised 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 worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,355 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education during the third quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Institutional investors own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Perdoceo Education

In related news, CFO Ashish R. Ghia sold 35,677 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.83, for a total transaction of $921,536.91. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 204,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,281,640.91. This represents a 14.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Elise Baskel sold 17,818 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.16, for a total transaction of $430,482.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 93,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,255,432.64. The trade was a 16.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 110,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,774,669. Insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

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Perdoceo Education Price Performance

PRDO traded up $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.11. 53,575 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 479,416. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.87. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 1 year low of $16.56 and a 1 year high of $29.84. The company has a current ratio of 4.84, a quick ratio of 5.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $25.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.61.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $176.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.12 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio is 23.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PRDO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Perdoceo Education from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barrington Research lifted their target price on Perdoceo Education from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

About Perdoceo Education

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.