Cerity Partners LLC Sells 77,966 Shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) by 15.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 417,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77,966 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Perdoceo Education were worth $9,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRDO. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 1,306.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Perdoceo Education by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Perdoceo Education during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 650.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Perdoceo Education during the second quarter worth $74,000. 93.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Perdoceo Education Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:PRDO opened at $27.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.62. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 1-year low of $16.12 and a 1-year high of $29.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.04.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 20.42%. The company had revenue of $169.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Perdoceo Education’s payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PRDO. StockNews.com cut shares of Perdoceo Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barrington Research increased their price target on shares of Perdoceo Education from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In related news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 30,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.47, for a total transaction of $809,293.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 130,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,451,820.35. This represents a 18.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michele A. Peppers sold 6,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $135,996.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,992. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,450 shares of company stock valued at $1,036,206. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.