Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 1,070 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,586 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,070 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 1.5% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 24,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 18,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.4% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 19,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,226,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Grand Canyon Education by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 384,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,884,000 after acquiring an additional 4,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the 3rd quarter worth $1,662,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

LOPE opened at $134.66 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.64. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.23 and a 52-week high of $156.56.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.13. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.81% and a net margin of 21.66%. The company had revenue of $274.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lisa Graham Keegan sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.96, for a total value of $39,949.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,874.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lisa Graham Keegan sold 270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.96, for a total transaction of $39,949.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,874.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy J. Claypatch sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.20, for a total value of $223,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,241,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.