Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 639,726 Shares of Laureate Education $LAUR

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) by 736.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 726,646 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 639,726 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Laureate Education were worth $25,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Laureate Education by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,403,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,605,000 after buying an additional 92,571 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Laureate Education by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,272,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,506,000 after buying an additional 105,712 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,654,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,384,000 after acquiring an additional 915,358 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,266,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,315,000 after acquiring an additional 811,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laureate Education by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,827,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,516,000 after acquiring an additional 123,525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Laureate Education from $37.50 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research downgraded Laureate Education from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Laureate Education from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Laureate Education from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Laureate Education from $41.50 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laureate Education has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.88.

Laureate Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ LAUR opened at $35.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.69 and a 200-day moving average of $34.50. Laureate Education has a 52-week low of $21.53 and a 52-week high of $40.75.

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $272.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.06 million. Laureate Education had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 22.07%. Laureate Education’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. Laureate Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.080 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laureate Education will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Laureate Education Profile

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.