Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Shares in Zillow Group, Inc. $Z

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 39,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,671,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,073,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,777,841,000 after acquiring an additional 71,336 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 10,953,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,241,000 after purchasing an additional 94,569 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Zillow Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,826,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $738,554,000 after purchasing an additional 191,058 shares in the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC increased its position in Zillow Group by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 6,056,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Zillow Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,838,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,882,000 after purchasing an additional 143,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on Z. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Zillow Group from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Zillow Group from $95.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Zillow Group from $84.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Zillow Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Zillow Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.00.

Insider Transactions at Zillow Group

In other news, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.40, for a total value of $115,117.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 49,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,630.40. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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. Also, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,072 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total transaction of $331,490.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 153,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,616,161.46. This trade represents a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,910 shares of company stock worth $1,605,732. Company insiders own 25.03% of the company’s stock.

Zillow Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow also highlighted a favorable housing affordability trend, saying 74% of rental listings on Zillow in May were affordable to a median-income household, the highest share ever for that time of year, which could support engagement and renter demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks note called Zillow a “strong growth stock,” but the item is promotional and did not add new fundamental information. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms said a securities class action has been filed against Zillow, alleging investor harm and violations of federal securities laws during the class period. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Additional notices say the lawsuit centers on an alleged anticompetitive agreement and related regulatory risks, raising the possibility of further legal and financial exposure for Zillow. Article Title

Zillow Group Price Performance

Shares of Z opened at $32.11 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.02 and a 200-day moving average of $50.85. The company has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.97. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.48 and a 1 year high of $93.88.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $708.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $705.10 million. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 2.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Zillow Group Profile

Zillow Group, Inc is an online real estate marketplace company that operates a portfolio of consumer-facing websites and mobile apps designed to connect buyers, sellers, renters, homeowners and real estate professionals. The company’s platforms aggregate property listings, rental listings, and related information to help users search for homes, estimate property values and connect with agents and service providers. Zillow generates revenue primarily through advertising and lead-generation services for real estate professionals, property managers and mortgage lenders.

Key products and services include the Zillow and Trulia consumer websites and apps, which provide searchable listings, photos, neighborhood data and the company’s automated home valuation tool known as the “Zestimate.” Zillow also offers a rentals marketplace, a mortgage marketplace and tools for home buying and selling such as Zillow Premier Agent for agent advertising and leads, as well as ancillary services designed to support transactions, including closing and title-related offerings.