Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Perdoceo Education Corporation by 147.3%, acquiring 100,602 additional shares, bringing its total ownership to 168,913 shares valued at approximately $4.25 million.
• Perdoceo Education recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, reflecting a 1.83% yield and a 23.01% payout ratio.
• The company reported earnings of $0.70 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.66, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 26.6%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO - Free Report) by 147.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,913 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 100,602 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.26% of Perdoceo Education worth $4,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education in the fourth quarter worth $47,129,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake 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. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Perdoceo Education by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 871,572 shares of the company's stock worth $23,071,000 after purchasing an additional 275,129 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 686,873 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,182,000 after buying an additional 265,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 7.9% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PRDO. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Perdoceo Education from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Perdoceo Education in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd.

Perdoceo Education Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Perdoceo Education stock traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, reaching $28.65. 587,008 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 628,934. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $31.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.46 and a quick ratio of 4.43. Perdoceo Education Corporation has a 1-year low of $20.55 and a 1-year high of $34.60. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.83.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.04. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 20.91%. The firm had revenue of $213.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $207.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Perdoceo Education Corporation will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Perdoceo Education's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.01%.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In other news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 71,254 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total transaction of $2,262,314.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 75,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,408,809. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michele A. Peppers sold 13,091 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $392,730.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 49,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,497,420. The trade was a 20.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,565 shares of company stock worth $4,550,566 over the last three months. 2.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Perdoceo Education Company 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.