Raymond James Trust N.A. Buys 111 Shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,983 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LOPE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 332,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter worth about $1,867,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 20.4% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 14,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 4.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 423,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,092,000 after purchasing an additional 19,577 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,440,000. 94.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Grand Canyon Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LOPE opened at $164.79 on Thursday. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.48 and a 52-week high of $173.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $146.14 and a 200 day moving average of $144.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.70.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $238.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.69 million. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 31.01% and a net margin of 22.09%. Grand Canyon Education’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Grand Canyon Education news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.23, for a total transaction of $211,845.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 22,674 shares in the company, valued at $3,202,249.02. This trade represents a 6.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Grand Canyon Education Company 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.