Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Holdings in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,067 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,253 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Perdoceo Education worth $1,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PRDO. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,886 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 227.1% during the 4th 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. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 122,700 shares of the company's stock worth $3,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PRDO. StockNews.com raised Perdoceo Education from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barrington Research upped their target price 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perdoceo Education

In other news, SVP Elise Baskel sold 17,818 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 93,354 shares in the company, valued at $2,255,432.64. This represents a 16.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Ashish R. Ghia sold 35,677 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.83, for a total transaction of $921,536.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 204,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,281,640.91. This trade represents a 14.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 110,691 shares of company stock worth $2,774,669. 1.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Perdoceo Education Stock Performance

Shares of PRDO stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.91. 470,217 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 478,068. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 12-month low of $17.57 and a 12-month high of $29.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 5.45 and a current ratio of 4.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $25.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.73.

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

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Perdoceo Education's payout ratio is currently 23.64%.

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.