Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board trimmed its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 51.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,774 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $1,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 14,150.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 710.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 46.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LOPE shares. Barrington Research upped their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $161.14 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $143.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.47. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.48 and a 1-year high of $173.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.70.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $238.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Grand Canyon Education’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total transaction of $211,845.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 22,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,202,249.02. This represents a 6.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.