Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) General Counsel Sells $125,241.72 in Stock

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) General Counsel Bradley Owens sold 3,364 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total transaction of $125,241.72. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 65,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,429,071.35. This represents a 4.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Zillow Group Price Performance

Shares of ZG opened at $38.06 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 152.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 2.04. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.26 and a 12 month high of $90.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.42.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $708.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $705.17 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zillow Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zillow Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow highlighted survey results showing most prospective home sellers want broad public exposure rather than private listing networks. The company said 85% of soon-to-be sellers are more likely to hire an agent who can pre-market to the broadest online audience, reinforcing Zillow’s core pitch that open-market listings benefit sellers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zillow also emphasized its data showing sellers lose money in same-agent dual agency deals and off-MLS listings, a message that could support demand for Zillow’s public-listing ecosystem and advertising tools. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan/other analyst commentary pointed to a lower price target for Zillow Group, suggesting Wall Street expectations have softened and may be limiting upside sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple Zillow insiders, including the CEO, COO, CTO, CAO, general counsel, and another executive, sold shares this week. The company said the sales were mainly to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards and some were made under a 10b5-1 plan, but the cluster of insider selling can still create a bearish overhang for investors. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm said it is investigating potential securities claims against Zillow, adding legal uncertainty that may be a headwind for the stock. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.24.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $152,050,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,024,556 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $138,135,000 after purchasing an additional 21,862 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 38,344.0% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,604,270 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $120,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,097 shares in the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 1,023,733 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $69,849,000 after purchasing an additional 240,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,018,448 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $69,489,000 after purchasing an additional 313,643 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.32% of the company’s stock.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) is a U.S.-based online real estate marketplace that connects consumers, real estate professionals and mortgage lenders through a suite of digital products and advertising services. Founded in 2006 by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company operates a portfolio of consumer-facing brands and tools designed to simplify home search, rental discovery, valuation and mortgage shopping.

Zillow’s core products include its consumer websites and mobile apps that list homes for sale and rent, the Zestimate automated home value estimate, and marketplaces that connect buyers and renters with agents and lenders.