KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $1.52 Million in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 57,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,519,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned 0.09% of Perdoceo Education at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRDO. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Perdoceo Education by 227.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Perdoceo Education by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 122,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Perdoceo Education by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Perdoceo Education Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:PRDO opened at $25.43 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.24. The company has a quick ratio of 5.45, a current ratio of 4.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.04. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 1-year low of $16.56 and a 1-year high of $29.84.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $176.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.12 million. Perdoceo Education had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 16.85%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Perdoceo Education Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Perdoceo Education’s payout ratio is currently 23.64%.

Insider Transactions at Perdoceo Education

In other Perdoceo Education news, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 12,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $327,888.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 615,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,186,674.13. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Robert Kline sold 12,148 shares of Perdoceo Education stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $313,296.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 130,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,363,144.95. This trade represents a 8.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 99,634 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,318 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PRDO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Perdoceo Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barrington Research upped their price target on Perdoceo Education from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

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.