Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Shares Sold by BTC Capital Management Inc.

BTC Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LOPE. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 12.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,323,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,725,000 after acquiring an additional 141,648 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 15.4% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 513,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,878,000 after acquiring an additional 68,579 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 19.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 263,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,361,000 after acquiring an additional 43,005 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth approximately $4,942,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,833,000. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total value of $249,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 21,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,516,366.18. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $175.64 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.27. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.48 and a 12 month high of $180.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.75.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.01. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.01% and a net margin of 22.09%. The firm had revenue of $238.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LOPE. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Grand Canyon Education Profile

Grand Canyon Education, Inc provides education services to colleges and universities in the United States. It offers technology services, including learning management system, internal administration, infrastructure, and support services; academic services, such as program and curriculum, faculty and related training and development, class scheduling, and skills and simulation lab sites; and counseling services and support services comprising admission, financial aid, and field experience and other counseling services.