O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 35,760 Shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) by 23.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,956 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,760 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned 0.18% of Perdoceo Education worth $3,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 227.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 1,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Perdoceo Education in the third quarter worth about $114,000. Institutional investors own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research raised their price target on shares of Perdoceo Education from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised Perdoceo Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Perdoceo Education Price Performance

NASDAQ PRDO opened at $25.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.45, a current ratio of 4.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.04. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 52 week low of $16.56 and a 52 week high of $29.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.36.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 16.85%. The company had revenue of $176.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.12 million. Research analysts predict that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.64%.

Insider Activity at Perdoceo Education

In related news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 38,984 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 644,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,882,199.02. The trade was 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP John Robert Kline sold 12,148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was 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 owns 130,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,363,144.95. This represents a 8.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 122,839 shares of company stock worth $3,087,966. 1.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.