Axa S.A. Sells 6,206 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Axa S.A. cut its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,435 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,206 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $2,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,961,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the first quarter worth $2,180,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Grand Canyon Education by 9.4% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 463,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,077,000 after acquiring an additional 39,743 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,388 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 450.7% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 14,386 shares during the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LOPE shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of LOPE stock opened at $141.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $144.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.60. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a one year low of $112.38 and a one year high of $157.53.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.17. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.49% and a net margin of 21.88%. The company had revenue of $227.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $223.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Grand Canyon Education

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total transaction of $211,845.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 22,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,202,249.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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.