Insider Selling: Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) CFO Sells 18,000 Shares of Stock

Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) CFO Bret Richter sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total transaction of $843,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,370,958.72. This trade represents a 38.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ziff Davis Stock Performance

Shares of ZD stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $45.74. 431,182 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 846,401. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.49 and its 200 day moving average is $39.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.48 and a beta of 1.12. Ziff Davis, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.45 and a 1 year high of $50.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. Ziff Davis had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business had revenue of $267.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ziff Davis, Inc. will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ziff Davis

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 75.6% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 772,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,440,000 after buying an additional 332,674 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Ziff Davis by 86.0% during the third quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 408,449 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,562,000 after acquiring an additional 188,844 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ziff Davis in the fourth quarter worth about $1,297,000. Bastion Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ziff Davis by 92.2% in the third quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 63,950 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 30,679 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of Ziff Davis by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 122,947 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,334,000 after purchasing an additional 37,108 shares in the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ziff Davis from $29.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ziff Davis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Piper Sandler set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Ziff Davis in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ziff Davis from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ziff Davis from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.25.

About Ziff Davis

Ziff Davis, Inc is a digital media and internet company that operates a diverse portfolio of online brands, subscription-based services and performance marketing platforms. The company specializes in technology publishing and digital marketing solutions, offering content, reviews and insights tailored to consumer and enterprise audiences. Ziff Davis’s flagship media properties include PCMag, which provides expert reviews and comparisons of consumer electronics and software, as well as IGN, a leading destination for gaming news, reviews and entertainment coverage.

Founded in 1927 by William B.