The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 636 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,431 shares of the company’s stock after selling 636 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $3,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,838,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth $38,066,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Grand Canyon Education by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,513,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,870,000 after buying an additional 189,843 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 392,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,786,000 after acquiring an additional 159,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter valued at $10,262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on LOPE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barrington Research lifted their price target on Grand Canyon Education from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

Shares of LOPE opened at $193.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.80. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.69 and a 1 year high of $202.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $174.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.89.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $289.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.18 million. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 30.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.