ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Laureate Education $LAUR

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,404 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,797 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laureate Education were worth $617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 260.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 3,540 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised 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 valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Laureate Education by 54.8% in the second quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 6,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new stake in Laureate Education in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $178,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Laureate Education by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 96.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LAUR. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Laureate Education from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Laureate Education in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Laureate Education from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.67.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LAUR opened at $30.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 0.61. Laureate Education has a fifty-two week low of $17.82 and a fifty-two week high of $32.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.03.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.23 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Laureate Education has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Laureate Education will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laureate Education declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.