Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Acquires Shares of 165 Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE)

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the third quarter worth about $1,867,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Grand Canyon Education by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 423,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,092,000 after buying an additional 19,577 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 113.7% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 4,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 66,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,385,000 after acquiring an additional 5,902 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LOPE shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Grand Canyon Education in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Grand Canyon Education from $152.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Grand Canyon Education Price Performance

NASDAQ LOPE opened at $180.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.74. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.48 and a 12 month high of $183.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.28.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Dilek Marsh sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total value of $249,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 21,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,516,366.18. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.