Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Shares Sold by Riverbridge Partners LLC

Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its position in Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) by 11.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,268,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 160,397 shares during the period. Grand Canyon Education comprises 3.5% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Grand Canyon Education were worth $219,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Grand Canyon Education by 5.0% in the first quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. NDVR Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 1,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Grand Canyon Education by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 94.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on LOPE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $208.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barrington Research increased their price objective on Grand Canyon Education from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Grand Canyon Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Grand Canyon Education Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ LOPE opened at $188.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $187.08 and a 200-day moving average of $176.81. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.69 and a 1-year high of $202.28.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.06. Grand Canyon Education had a return on equity of 30.94% and a net margin of 21.94%. The firm had revenue of $289.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.18 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Grand Canyon Education, Inc. will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current 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.