Two Sigma Securities LLC Takes $346,000 Position in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 13,086 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 122,700 shares of the company's stock worth $3,248,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Perdoceo Education by 47.5% during 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. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Perdoceo Education Price Performance

Shares of PRDO opened at $24.92 on Monday. Perdoceo Education Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.10 and a fifty-two week high of $29.84. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $25.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 5.45 and a current ratio of 4.84.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $160.12 million. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 21.66%. Analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perdoceo Education

In related news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 38,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $961,345.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 644,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,882,199.02. This trade represents a 5.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Elise Baskel sold 17,818 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,691 shares of company stock worth $2,774,669. 2.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRDO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Perdoceo Education from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research report on Thursday.

Perdoceo Education Company 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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