Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,600 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,890 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.36% of Grand Canyon Education worth $14,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LOPE. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth $727,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 243.1% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after buying an additional 12,353 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 321,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,507,000 after buying an additional 11,567 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,979,000. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. 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 research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their target price on 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $145.46 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $136.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.60. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a one year low of $99.65 and a one year high of $156.56.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $274.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Grand Canyon Education news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of Grand Canyon Education stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.65, for a total transaction of $198,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 25,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,405,656.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.65, for a total transaction of $198,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 25,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,405,656.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lisa Graham Keegan sold 270 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,874.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,270 shares of company stock valued at $462,724 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.