Congress Asset Management Co. Takes $295,000 Position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter worth $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter worth $31,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 420 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Grand Canyon Education

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 21,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,366.18. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of 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 lowered shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Down 3.0 %

LOPE stock traded down $5.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $181.70. 229,062 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 152,464. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.17 and a 52 week high of $192.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $170.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.74.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 30.91%. The firm had revenue of $292.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.62 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.