B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Purchases New Shares in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 13,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,867,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,005,381 shares of the company's stock worth $409,363,000 after purchasing an additional 24,871 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.3% in the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 850,343 shares of the company's stock worth $118,971,000 after acquiring an additional 11,179 shares during the period. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 1.5% in the second quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 756,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,908,000 after acquiring an additional 11,540 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 1.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 716,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,197,000 after acquiring an additional 12,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 47.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 538,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,452,000 after acquiring an additional 173,800 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total value of $211,845.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 22,674 shares in the company, valued at $3,202,249.02. This trade represents a 6.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock traded up $4.32 on Friday, reaching $166.45. 200,094 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 183,755. The company has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.70. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.48 and a 52 week high of $173.37. The firm's 50-day moving average is $144.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.92.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $238.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.69 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.01% and a net margin of 22.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on LOPE. StockNews.com cut Grand Canyon Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research upped their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

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.