VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Lowers Stake in Laureate Education $LAUR

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lowered its holdings in Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) by 63.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,528 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,300 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Laureate Education were worth $900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAUR. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Laureate Education by 328.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Laureate Education in the second quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Laureate Education by 11.8% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Laureate Education by 41.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 54.8% in the 2nd quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 6,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443 shares during the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAUR has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Laureate Education from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Laureate Education from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laureate Education presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LAUR opened at $33.31 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Laureate Education has a one year low of $17.82 and a one year high of $34.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.29.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.10). Laureate Education had a return on equity of 22.99% and a net margin of 12.86%.The company had revenue of $400.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Laureate Education will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laureate Education announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Laureate Education

Laureate Education, Inc (NASDAQ: LAUR) is a leading global network of higher education institutions dedicated to providing undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs to a diverse student body. The company designs and delivers academic offerings through a combination of campus-based and online platforms, focusing on fields such as business, health sciences, engineering, education and hospitality management. By aligning its curriculum with regional workforce needs, Laureate aims to equip students with practical skills and industry insights that support career advancement and lifelong learning.

Through its network, Laureate operates a broad portfolio of universities and colleges, including both longstanding campus institutions and digitally native programs.