AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) by 48.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 238,803 shares of the company's stock after selling 221,059 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Perdoceo Education worth $5,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRDO. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 296.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 96,261 shares of the company's stock worth $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 71,995 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Perdoceo Education by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 144,388 shares of the company's stock worth $3,093,000 after acquiring an additional 8,072 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,650,123 shares of the company's stock worth $56,766,000 after acquiring an additional 518,048 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 107,918 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Perdoceo Education Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PRDO traded up $0.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 342,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,569. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.04. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 12 month low of $16.12 and a 12 month high of $26.40. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $22.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.41.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $166.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.91 million. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 20.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is an increase from Perdoceo Education's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In related news, insider Michele A. Peppers sold 6,476 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $135,996.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,992. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Michele A. Peppers sold 6,476 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $135,996.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,992. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gregory L. Jackson sold 26,664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $605,272.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 58,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,331,218.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,325 shares of company stock worth $1,044,656. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.