Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Decreases Stake in Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its stake in Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) by 91.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,841 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Perdoceo Education were worth $62,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,296,208 shares of the company's stock worth $87,251,000 after purchasing an additional 241,147 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,817,982 shares of the company's stock worth $48,129,000 after purchasing an additional 14,591 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Perdoceo Education during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,129,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Perdoceo Education by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 1,739,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,042,000 after acquiring an additional 85,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Perdoceo Education by 58.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 403,157 shares during the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Perdoceo Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PRDO traded up $0.92 on Friday, hitting $29.70. 1,364,830 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 643,404. Perdoceo Education Corporation has a 1-year low of $20.55 and a 1-year high of $34.60. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $31.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.50. The company has a current ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.87.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $209.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.92 million. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 17.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Perdoceo Education Corporation will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors 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. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research report on Friday. 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.

Insider Activity at Perdoceo Education

In other news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 71,254 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total value of $2,262,314.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 75,868 shares in the company, valued at $2,408,809. This trade represents a 48.43% 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 link. Also, SVP Sunitha Araamudhu sold 14,296 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.69, for a total transaction of $438,744.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 34,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,070,804.79. This trade represents a 29.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,474 shares of company stock valued at $4,157,836 in the last quarter. 2.11% of the stock is currently owned by 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.