American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 165,762 Shares of Perdoceo Education Corporation $PRDO

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Perdoceo Education by 10.2%, owning approximately 2.74% of the company, valued at $45.1 million after acquiring additional shares.
• Perdoceo Education recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.13 to $0.15 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.9%.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Buy" for Perdoceo Education's stock, with a price target of $40, after the company reported earnings that exceeded expectations.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,792,952 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 165,762 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 2.74% of Perdoceo Education worth $45,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRDO. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Perdoceo Education in the fourth quarter valued at $47,129,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Perdoceo Education in the first quarter valued at $18,758,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 58.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,088,105 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,398,000 after purchasing an additional 403,157 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 46.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 871,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,071,000 after purchasing an additional 275,129 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 686,873 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,182,000 after purchasing an additional 265,401 shares during the period. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Perdoceo Education

In related news, SVP David C. Czeszewski sold 30,892 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.66, for a total value of $978,040.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 92,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,916,804.14. This trade represents a 25.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William Dean Hansen sold 5,994 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total transaction of $189,170.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 44,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,394,036.76. The trade was a 11.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 196,455 shares of company stock worth $6,217,185. 2.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRDO. Wall Street Zen downgraded Perdoceo Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Perdoceo Education currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.00.

Perdoceo Education Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of PRDO stock traded down $0.46 on Tuesday, reaching $32.60. 479,049 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 811,731. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.87 and a 200-day moving average of $28.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.27 and a quick ratio of 4.26. Perdoceo Education Corporation has a one year low of $20.55 and a one year high of $34.60.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $209.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $206.92 million. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business's revenue was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Perdoceo Education has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.600-0.620 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.480-2.550 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Corporation will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Perdoceo Education's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Perdoceo Education's payout ratio is currently 22.51%.

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.