Swedbank AB Sells 597,351 Shares of Laureate Education $LAUR

Key Points

• Swedbank AB has reduced its stake in Laureate Education by 23.8%, holding 1.29% of the company after selling 597,351 shares.
• Laureate Education reported earnings of $0.79 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $524.20 million, a 5.0% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts upgraded Laureate Education from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating, with an average target price of $24.00 based on the consensus rating of "Buy".

Swedbank AB cut its holdings in Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) by 23.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,915,949 shares of the company's stock after selling 597,351 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 1.29% of Laureate Education worth $39,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LAUR. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Laureate Education by 2.8% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,513 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Laureate Education by 1.5% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 52,706 shares of the company's stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Laureate Education by 4.2% during the first quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC now owns 19,800 shares of the company's stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Laureate Education by 4.7% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,290 shares of the company's stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in Laureate Education by 2.5% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 52,500 shares of the company's stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laureate Education Price Performance

Shares of LAUR traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $29.48. The company had a trading volume of 441,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 863,077. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $25.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.72. Laureate Education has a 1-year low of $15.15 and a 1-year high of $30.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.58.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.06. Laureate Education had a net margin of 16.41% and a return on equity of 29.46%. The business had revenue of $524.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $502.00 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Laureate Education has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Laureate Education will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Laureate Education from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

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.