Bridgewater Associates LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,947 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,221 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.26% of Grand Canyon Education worth $10,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the second quarter worth about $1,961,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,180,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 7.0% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 66,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,865,000 after purchasing an additional 4,388 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 450.7% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 14,386 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the third quarter worth $1,867,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LOPE shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Transactions at Grand Canyon Education

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,202,249.02. This represents a 6.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ LOPE traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $164.59. The company had a trading volume of 94,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,505. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 1.37 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.47.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $238.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.69 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 22.09% and a return on equity of 31.01%. Grand Canyon Education's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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.