Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 16,300 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 368,920 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,300 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.27% of Grand Canyon Education worth $60,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOPE. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth about $2,331,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 102.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 113,194 shares of the company's stock worth $18,541,000 after purchasing an additional 57,325 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,856 shares of the company's stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter valued at $1,352,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter valued at $57,838,000. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on LOPE. StockNews.com raised shares of Grand Canyon Education from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barrington Research upped their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Down 2.7 %

LOPE traded down $4.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $169.38. 36,284 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 177,113. The company's fifty day moving average price is $175.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.82. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.17 and a 52-week high of $192.18.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 EPS 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 30.67%. The firm had revenue of $292.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.62 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share 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.