Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Purchases New Stake in Laureate Education $LAUR

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund purchased a new stake in Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LAUR. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 1,060.2% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,101,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,888,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661,417 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laureate Education in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,859,000. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laureate Education in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,554,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,266,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,315,000 after purchasing an additional 811,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 113.8% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,288,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,133,000 after purchasing an additional 685,998 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.27% of the company’s stock.

Laureate Education Price Performance

LAUR stock opened at $35.22 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 0.41. Laureate Education has a 52-week low of $21.53 and a 52-week high of $37.91.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $272.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.06 million. Laureate Education had a return on equity of 22.07% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.13) earnings per share. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.080 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Laureate Education will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Laureate Education from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Laureate Education from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Laureate Education from $41.50 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Laureate Education from $32.00 to $36.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.88.

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.