Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Buys 11,245 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,786 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,245 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. owned about 0.15% of Grand Canyon Education worth $7,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 538,532 shares of the company's stock worth $74,452,000 after acquiring an additional 173,800 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,323,406 shares of the company's stock worth $187,725,000 after purchasing an additional 141,648 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 15.4% during 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 last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 1,481.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 64,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,069,000 after purchasing an additional 60,723 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 263,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,361,000 after buying an additional 43,005 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LOPE traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $171.59. The stock had a trading volume of 98,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 98,804. The company has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.75. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.48 and a twelve month high of $176.77. The business's fifty day moving average is $165.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.40.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LOPE shares. StockNews.com cut Grand Canyon Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barrington Research upped their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird raised 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 report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

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.