Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Shares Purchased by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,740 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 47.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 538,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,452,000 after purchasing an additional 173,800 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 285,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,882,000 after acquiring an additional 82,855 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 89.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,215,000 after acquiring an additional 81,853 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 15.4% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 513,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,878,000 after acquiring an additional 68,579 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LOPE shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research raised their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $249,105.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 21,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,516,366.18. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Down 1.8 %

LOPE stock opened at $160.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.89. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.48 and a twelve month high of $173.37.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $239.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current 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.