Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 24,434 Shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) by 9.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 278,091 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 24,434 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.42% of Perdoceo Education worth $5,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Perdoceo Education by 71.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 73,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 30,725 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 2.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,505,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,512,000 after buying an additional 107,918 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education in the third quarter valued at $9,374,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 1,107.5% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 22,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 20,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Perdoceo Education by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,010,254 shares of the company's stock worth $43,060,000 after buying an additional 75,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 30,574 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.47, for a total transaction of $809,293.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 130,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,451,820.35. This trade represents a 18.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick W. Gross sold 3,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.74, for a total value of $90,916.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 69,635 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,039.90. This represents a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PRDO shares. Barrington Research upped their price objective on Perdoceo Education from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Perdoceo Education from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, December 8th.

Perdoceo Education Stock Performance

PRDO stock remained flat at $26.12 during trading hours on Monday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 394,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,801. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $25.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.14. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 52-week low of $16.12 and a 52-week high of $29.47. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.07.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $169.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.60 million. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 20.42%. Perdoceo Education's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Perdoceo Education's payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

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.