Royce & Associates LP Increases Position in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,168 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,537 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Perdoceo Education were worth $2,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRDO. Vestcor Inc increased its position in Perdoceo Education by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 34,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 4,424 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 122,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Perdoceo Education by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 253,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,705,000 after purchasing an additional 31,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Perdoceo Education Price Performance

NASDAQ PRDO opened at $24.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.87 and a 200 day moving average of $25.09. Perdoceo Education Co. has a one year low of $16.56 and a one year high of $29.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.04. 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) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $160.12 million. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 16.85%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 EPS for the current 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRDO has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 increased 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perdoceo Education

In other Perdoceo Education news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 12,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total transaction of $313,296.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 130,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,363,144.95. This represents a 8.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 12,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $327,888.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 615,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,186,674.13. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.81% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.