Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Position in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,144 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Zillow Group were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in Zillow Group by 179.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,095,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,337,000 after buying an additional 3,272,118 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Zillow Group during the third quarter worth approximately $83,005,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Zillow Group during the third quarter worth approximately $38,310,000. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in Zillow Group by 428.2% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 523,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,443,000 after buying an additional 424,615 shares during the period. Finally, Mackay Shields LLC purchased a new stake in Zillow Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,496,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Z has been the subject of several research reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of Zillow Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zillow Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.00.

Zillow Group Price Performance

Z opened at $70.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of -150.17, a P/E/G ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 2.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $77.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.94. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.45 and a 12-month high of $89.39.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.48). Zillow Group had a negative net margin of 5.01% and a negative return on equity of 2.12%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zillow Group news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 23,388 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.98, for a total transaction of $1,987,512.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,782.76. This represents a 19.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jun Choo sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.18, for a total transaction of $4,299,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 86,853 shares in the company, valued at $6,790,167.54. This trade represents a 38.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 96,065 shares of company stock valued at $7,660,165. Company insiders own 23.76% of the company’s stock.

Zillow Group Company Profile

Zillow Group, Inc operates real estate brands in mobile applications and Websites in the United States. The company offers premier agent and rentals marketplaces, new construction marketplaces, advertising, display advertising, and business technology solutions, as well as dotloop and floor plans. It also provides mortgage originations and the sale of mortgages, and advertising to mortgage lenders and other mortgage professionals; and title and escrow services.