KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 57,400 Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 57,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,519,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRDO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Perdoceo Education by 227.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Perdoceo Education during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing 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 $114,000. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Perdoceo Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PRDO opened at $25.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.04. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 1 year low of $16.56 and a 1 year high of $29.84. The company has a current ratio of 4.84, a quick ratio of 5.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.24.

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

Perdoceo Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio is 23.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ashish R. Ghia sold 6,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $155,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 252,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,303,250. This represents a 2.41 % 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 38,984 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total value of $961,345.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 644,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,882,199.02. This trade represents a 5.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 99,634 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,318. 1.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.