Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Purchases 913 Shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) by 227.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,315 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Perdoceo Education were worth $34,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,374,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in Perdoceo Education by 353.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,460,000 after buying an additional 86,227 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in Perdoceo Education by 360.8% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 85,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,257,000 after buying an additional 66,751 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in Perdoceo Education by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 203,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,376,000 after buying an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Perdoceo Education in the third quarter worth $1,043,000. Institutional investors own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRDO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research raised their target price on Perdoceo Education from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised Perdoceo Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Perdoceo Education Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of PRDO stock opened at $24.34 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.03. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 12-month low of $16.56 and a 12-month high of $29.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.04.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The firm 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 12,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 130,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,363,144.95. This represents a 8.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 12,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $327,888.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 615,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,186,674.13. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

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.