Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) by 46.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,422 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,118 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Laureate Education worth $2,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 3,386 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 48.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,976 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Laureate Education during the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Laureate Education by 112.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,180 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,455 shares during the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Laureate Education

In related news, Director Ian Kendell Snow sold 520,831 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.47, for a total transaction of $9,098,917.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAUR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Laureate Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Laureate Education from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Laureate Education Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:LAUR traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $21.90. 86,872 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,461. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $20.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.46. Laureate Education, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $23.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.59. 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 (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.20. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 18.92%. The company had revenue of $423.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $411.50 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Laureate Education, Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laureate Education 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.