Laureate Education $LAUR Stock: Candriam S.C.A. Lowers Position

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. cut its Laureate Education stake by 39.2% in the third quarter, selling 574,786 shares; it retained 891,775 shares, valued at about $34.2 million.
• Laureate beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.52 versus $0.48 consensus and revenue of $485.1 million. Revenue rose 21.2% year over year.
• Analysts’ average rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $40.90; insiders sold 521,229 shares worth about $19.1 million during the last quarter.

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its position in shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 891,775 shares of the company's stock after selling 574,786 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.65% of Laureate Education worth $34,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAUR. Point Nemo Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Point Nemo Capital LLC now owns 46,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Laureate Education by 10.5% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 16,191 shares of the company's stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Laureate Education by 1.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 45,719 shares of the company's stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in Laureate Education by 11.0% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 20,100 shares of the company's stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its position in Laureate Education by 26.1% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on LAUR shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Laureate Education from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Laureate Education from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Laureate Education from a "buy (a)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Barrington Research started coverage on shares of Laureate Education in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.90.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

Shares of LAUR stock opened at $33.59 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.45. Laureate Education has a 1-year low of $24.98 and a 1-year high of $40.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.21 and a 200 day moving average of $35.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 26.41% and a net margin of 20.28%. The business had revenue of $485.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $480.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laureate Education will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ian Snow sold 427,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.26, for a total value of $15,483,708.94. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,646,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,695,708.24. This trade represents a 20.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 521,229 shares of company stock valued at $19,103,350 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Laureate Education

Laureate Education, Inc operates a network of private higher education institutions in Mexico and Peru. Its principal institutions are Universidad del Valle de México (UVM) and Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC).

The company offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as other academic and professional education, across fields that include business, health sciences, engineering and technology. Its institutions serve students through campus-based and digital learning options.

Laureate traces its origins to Sylvan Learning Systems, founded in 1989, and later expanded internationally under the Laureate International Universities name.

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