Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 22,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAUR. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Laureate Education by 34.4% during the fourth 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 grew its position in shares of Laureate Education by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Laureate Education by 10.7% in the fourth 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. purchased a new position in Laureate Education during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Laureate Education by 112.8% during 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 period. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Laureate Education

In other Laureate Education news, Director Ian Kendell Snow sold 520,831 shares of Laureate Education stock in a transaction that occurred 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 this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laureate Education Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ LAUR traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.47. 857,299 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 748,266. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.19. Laureate Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.60 and a 1 year high of $23.61.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Laureate Education from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

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.