HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,252 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,073 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Perdoceo Education were worth $814,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 1,306.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 650.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education in the second quarter valued at about $74,000. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PRDO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Perdoceo Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 8th. Barrington Research boosted their target price on Perdoceo Education from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Perdoceo Education

In other Perdoceo Education news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 30,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.47, for a total transaction of $809,293.78. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 130,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,451,820.35. This represents a 18.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Patrick W. Gross sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.74, for a total value of $90,916.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,862,039.90. This trade represents a 4.66 % 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.

Perdoceo Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PRDO opened at $26.25 on Thursday. Perdoceo Education Co. has a one year low of $16.12 and a one year high of $29.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.07.

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

Perdoceo Education Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Perdoceo Education’s payout ratio is 26.13%.

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.