Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE - Free Report) by 32.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,776 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,263 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.10% of Grand Canyon Education worth $4,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,323,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,725,000 after buying an additional 141,648 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 883,971 shares of the company's stock worth $125,391,000 after purchasing an additional 8,159 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 15.4% during the third 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. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 4.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 423,633 shares of the company's stock worth $60,092,000 after purchasing an additional 19,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 332,642 shares of the company's stock worth $47,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LOPE shares. StockNews.com cut Grand Canyon Education from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barrington Research lifted their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Grand Canyon Education stock traded down $5.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $181.70. 229,062 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 152,464. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $170.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.74. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.17 and a 12-month 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $292.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.62 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.91% and a net margin of 21.90%. Equities research analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of Grand Canyon Education 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 21,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,516,366.18. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.