We'd be surprised if Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO) shareholders haven't noticed that the VP & Chief Accounting Officer, Michele Peppers, recently sold US$262k worth of stock at US$20.99 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 33% in their holding.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Perdoceo Education

The President, Todd Nelson, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$852k worth of shares at a price of US$17.77 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$22.17. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 19% of Todd Nelson's holding.

In the last year Perdoceo Education insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Insider Ownership Of Perdoceo Education

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Perdoceo Education insiders own 6.5% of the company, worth about US$95m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Perdoceo Education Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Perdoceo Education stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. On the plus side, Perdoceo Education makes money, and is growing profits. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Perdoceo Education that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course Perdoceo Education may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.