Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,776 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,263 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $4,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 12.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,323,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,725,000 after buying an additional 141,648 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 0.9% in the third 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 during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 68,579 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 4.8% in 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 332,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a 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 company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Activity at Grand Canyon Education

In other Grand Canyon Education news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 21,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,516,366.18. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

LOPE opened at $185.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.74. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.17 and a 12-month high of $185.66.

About Grand Canyon Education

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.