Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Lowers Stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,089 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,774 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $1,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,005,381 shares of the company's stock worth $409,363,000 after buying an additional 24,871 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 850,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,971,000 after acquiring an additional 11,179 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 756,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,908,000 after purchasing an additional 11,540 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 716,229 shares of the company's stock worth $100,197,000 after purchasing an additional 12,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 47.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 538,532 shares of the company's stock worth $74,452,000 after purchasing an additional 173,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOPE has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Grand Canyon Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barrington Research raised their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of Grand Canyon Education stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $161.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 262,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,660. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a one year low of $118.48 and a one year high of $173.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $143.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.70.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.01% and a net margin of 22.09%. The company had revenue of $238.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.69 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Grand Canyon Education's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Grand Canyon Education news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $3,202,249.02. This represents a 6.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

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.