Banco Santander S.A. Trims Stock Position in Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR)

Banco Santander S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR) by 39.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,442 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,913 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Laureate Education were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAUR. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Laureate Education by 51.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted 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 buying an additional 866 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Laureate Education by 62.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in Laureate Education during the third quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Laureate Education by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LAUR opened at $19.42 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.80. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $19.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.77. Laureate Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.26 and a 12 month high of $21.73.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Laureate Education from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

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.