Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,057,296 Shares of CoStar Group, Inc. $CSGP

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,566,074 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,057,296 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CoStar Group were worth $1,181,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CSGP. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in CoStar Group by 9.8% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in CoStar Group by 727.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in CoStar Group by 860.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 12,691 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 11,370 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in CoStar Group by 9.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,941 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in CoStar Group by 44.6% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 35,604 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 10,984 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.60% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting CoStar Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO insider buy — Chief executive Andrew C. Florance bought 71,430 shares at an average ~$35.20 (about $2.51M), raising his holding by ~4.33%. Insider buying is read as a sign of management confidence and can help prop the share price. CoStar Group CEO Andrew Florance buys $2.51 million in company stock
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat and activist exit context — Coverage notes the CEO boosted his stake after the departure of an activist investor and following the April earnings beat (EPS $0.23 vs. $0.18 consensus). Management also provided Q2 and FY2026 EPS guidance (Q2: $0.270–0.300; FY: $1.320–1.390), which frames near-term expectations. That combination (insider buying + better-than-expected results + guidance) is a catalyst for the stock. CoStar CEO boosts stake after activist exit and earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst consensus is constructive — Aggregated analyst coverage still shows a bullish tilt (consensus “Moderate Buy”), supporting demand from institutional buyers even as individual targets shift. CoStar Group receives consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry outlook — CoStar’s U.S. retail forecast is described as “balanced through 2026,” implying stable commercial real‑estate fundamentals but not a strong near-term growth surge; this supports a steady revenue backdrop for CoStar’s data/subscription business. CoStar’s U.S. Retail Forecast Remains Balanced Through 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Price-target cut by Stephens — Stephens trimmed its price target from $50 to $42 (still an Overweight rating). A lower target can weigh on sentiment and limit near-term upside, even if the rating remains positive. Stephens lowers CoStar price target to $42 (Benzinga)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CSGP shares. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on shares of CoStar Group from $73.00 to $44.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of CoStar Group from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $44.00 price objective on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CoStar Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.12.

CoStar Group Stock Up 1.9%

CSGP opened at $35.38 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CoStar Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.31 and a 1-year high of $97.43. The company has a market capitalization of $14.45 billion, a PE ratio of 589.76, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.78.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The technology company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $897.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $896.73 million. CoStar Group had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 2.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. CoStar Group has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.270-0.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.320-1.390 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

CoStar Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 5.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Louise S. Sams bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $48.36 per share, with a total value of $48,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $986,979.24. The trade was a 5.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew C. Florance bought 71,430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $35.20 per share, with a total value of $2,514,336.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,722,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,644,848. This represents a 4.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.09% of the company’s stock.

CoStar Group Company Profile

CoStar Group, Inc is a provider of information, analytics and online marketplaces for the commercial real estate industry. The company gathers property-level data, builds market analytics and supplies research tools used by brokers, owners, lenders, investors and other real estate professionals to evaluate markets, track inventory and manage listings. CoStar’s offerings are delivered primarily through subscription-based platforms that combine proprietary databases, mapping and workflow applications to support decision-making across the property life cycle.

In addition to its core CoStar research service, the company operates prominent online listing and marketing platforms that connect buyers, sellers, tenants and brokers.