Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Takes Position in Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC acquired 28,351 shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) valued at approximately $580,000 in the 1st quarter, according to their Form 13F filing.
• Additionally, several institutional investors, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and Marathon Asset Management, have increased their holdings in Laureate Education, indicating strong institutional interest with 96.27% of shares owned by such investors.
• In its most recent earnings report, Laureate Education beat analysts' expectations by posting $0.79 EPS for the quarter, up from $0.65 EPS the previous year, with revenue increasing by 5.0% year-over-year to $524.20 million.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 28,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $580,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Laureate Education by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,090,486 shares of the company's stock worth $129,683,000 after purchasing an additional 87,267 shares during the period. Marathon Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Laureate Education by 6.6% during the first quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,816,234 shares of the company's stock worth $37,142,000 after buying an additional 112,492 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,761,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,225,000 after acquiring an additional 122,094 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Laureate Education by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,663,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,424,000 after purchasing an additional 263,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,317,529 shares of the company's stock worth $24,098,000 after buying an additional 58,811 shares during the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LAUR. Wall Street Zen raised Laureate Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Laureate Education from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Laureate Education Stock Up 1.1%

Laureate Education stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $24.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 888,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,951. The firm's 50 day moving average is $22.99 and its 200 day moving average is $21.09. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.54. Laureate Education has a 52-week low of $14.30 and a 52-week high of $24.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.06. Laureate Education had a net margin of 16.41% and a return on equity of 29.46%. The company had revenue of $524.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $502.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Laureate Education will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Laureate Education Company Profile

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.