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

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased 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 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 22,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its position in shares of Laureate Education by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 17,622 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 22,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.27% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ian Kendell Snow sold 520,831 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.47, for a total value of $9,098,917.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Laureate Education from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Laureate Education Stock Up 0.7 %

LAUR traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.15. 682,187 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,684. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 0.43. Laureate Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.26 and a 12-month high of $21.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.65 and a 200 day moving average of $18.47.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $423.40 million for 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%. Analysts predict 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.