Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 120,000 Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 120,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,570,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Perdoceo Education by 117.7% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,213,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,315,000 after acquiring an additional 656,280 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,896,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,538,000 after purchasing an additional 45,259 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Perdoceo Education during the fourth quarter valued at $922,000. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Perdoceo Education during the fourth quarter valued at about $697,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Perdoceo Education in the first quarter worth about $873,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Perdoceo Education Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:PRDO traded down $0.23 on Friday, reaching $22.55. 289,373 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 498,885. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.14. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 12 month low of $15.79 and a 12 month high of $26.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.02.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 20.57%. The company had revenue of $166.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a positive change from Perdoceo Education’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Perdoceo Education’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PRDO shares. StockNews.com downgraded Perdoceo Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barrington Research increased their price objective on shares of Perdoceo Education from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

Insider Activity at Perdoceo Education

In other Perdoceo Education news, Director William Dean Hansen sold 13,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.01, for a total transaction of $303,386.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $897,758.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Gregory L. Jackson sold 26,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $605,272.80. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 58,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,331,218.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William Dean Hansen sold 13,185 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.01, for a total transaction of $303,386.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $897,758.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.