Swiss National Bank Cuts Position in Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR)

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 270,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.18% of Laureate Education worth $4,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAUR. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Laureate Education by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Laureate Education by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 3,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 17,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 47,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974 shares during the period. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

Shares of LAUR opened at $19.88 on Tuesday. Laureate Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.26 and a 12-month high of $21.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.08.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $423.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $411.50 million. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 18.92%. As a group, research analysts predict that Laureate Education, Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Laureate Education from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Insider Activity at Laureate Education

In related news, Director Ian Kendell Snow sold 520,831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.47, for a total value of $9,098,917.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

About Laureate Education

Laureate Education, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers higher education programs and services to students through a network of universities and higher education institutions. The company provides a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the areas of business and management, medicine and health sciences, and engineering and information technology through campus-based, online, and hybrid programs.