Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stock Position in Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in shares of Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) by 73.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,371 shares of the company's stock after selling 122,564 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Laureate Education were worth $829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Laureate Education by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Laureate Education during the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Laureate Education by 112.8% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,180 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 6,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.27% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ian Kendell Snow sold 520,831 shares of Laureate Education stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ LAUR traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $22.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 890,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,161. Laureate Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.60 and a 12 month high of $23.12. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $19.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Laureate Education from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday.

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.