Barclays PLC Purchases 21,444 Shares of Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR)

Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 251,542 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,444 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.17% of Laureate Education worth $4,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Laureate Education by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 76,317 shares of the company's stock worth $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 13,540 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laureate Education by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,181,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,892,000 after acquiring an additional 35,521 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new stake in Laureate Education in the fourth quarter valued at about $666,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Laureate Education in the fourth quarter worth about $408,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Laureate Education by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,049 shares of the company's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.27% of the company's stock.

Laureate Education Price Performance

Shares of LAUR stock traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.76. 218,201 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 752,325. The stock's 50-day moving average is $19.56 and its 200-day moving average is $18.80. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Laureate Education, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.26 and a 52 week high of $21.79.

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

Insider Activity

In other Laureate Education news, Director Ian Kendell Snow sold 520,831 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.47, for a total transaction of $9,098,917.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Laureate Education from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

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.