Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $267,000 in Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 10,606 shares of Perdoceo Education Corporation, valued at approximately $267,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Perdoceo Education announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share, from a previous $0.13, representing an annual yield of 2.0%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a 25.7% year-over-year revenue increase, with earnings per share of $0.67, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRDO. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Perdoceo Education by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,296,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,251,000 after purchasing an additional 241,147 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,817,982 shares of the company's stock worth $48,129,000 after buying an additional 14,591 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,129,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 1,739,401 shares of the company's stock worth $46,042,000 after acquiring an additional 85,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $27,398,000 after acquiring an additional 403,157 shares during the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William Dean Hansen sold 5,994 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $189,170.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 44,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,394,036.76. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Robert Kline sold 71,254 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total value of $2,262,314.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 75,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,408,809. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,474 shares of company stock valued at $4,157,836 in the last 90 days. 2.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Perdoceo Education Stock Performance

PRDO stock traded down $0.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $30.53. 556,060 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 605,618. Perdoceo Education Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.55 and a 52 week high of $34.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 4.26, a current ratio of 4.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.54.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business had revenue of $209.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Corporation will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Perdoceo Education's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio is 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Perdoceo Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Perdoceo Education Profile

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.