Empowered Funds LLC Lowers Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Empowered Funds LLC cut its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,764 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,277 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $1,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 12.0% in 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. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 883,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,391,000 after purchasing an additional 8,159 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 513,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,878,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 4.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 423,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,092,000 after purchasing an additional 19,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 332,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,185,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares during the period. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of Grand Canyon Education stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $249,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 21,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,516,366.18. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Grand Canyon Education stock opened at $183.70 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $169.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.53. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.17 and a 1-year high of $185.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LOPE. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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 reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Grand Canyon Education Company 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.