Aviva PLC Has $981,000 Position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Aviva PLC decreased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE – Get Rating) by 51.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,026 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 38.2% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 3,737 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 57.8% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 3,553 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Grand Canyon Education in the first quarter valued at approximately $686,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Grand Canyon Education by 32.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 6,205 shares during the last quarter. 96.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Grand Canyon Education news, insider Kathy J. Claypatch sold 1,500 shares of Grand Canyon Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.59, for a total value of $168,885.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,644.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on LOPE shares. Barrington Research upped their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Grand Canyon Education in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LOPE opened at $110.99 on Friday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.37 and a twelve month high of $124.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $113.15 and its 200-day moving average is $111.44. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.62.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.04. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 20.29%. The firm had revenue of $250.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Grand Canyon Education

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Grand Canyon Education, Inc engages in the provision of education services. It offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs and certificates across colleges. The company was founded by Christopher C. Richardson and Brent D. Richardson in November 2003 and is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ.