Bradley Owens Sells 3,364 Shares of Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) Stock

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) General Counsel Bradley Owens sold 3,364 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total value of $125,241.72. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 65,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,429,071.35. This represents a 4.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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

ZG opened at $38.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 152.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 2.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.54. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.26 and a 1-year high of $90.22.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arax Advisory Partners lifted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 402.3% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 442 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Zillow Group during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 990.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,014 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zillow Group during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ZG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Zillow Group from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $53.00 target price on Zillow Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Zillow Group from $67.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $50.00 target price on Zillow Group in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.24.

More Zillow Group News

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

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.