Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 31,499,908 Shares of Zillow Group, Inc. $Z

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,499,908 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Zillow Group were worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Zillow Group by 352.0% during the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Zillow Group by 58.2% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 74.8% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Zillow Group by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Zillow Group by 46.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zillow Group

In related news, Director Erik C. Blachford sold 965 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.51, for a total transaction of $69,972.15. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,432,202.93. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 7,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.53, for a total transaction of $546,853.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 70,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,923,488.83. The trade was a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,217 shares of company stock worth $11,719,025. Corporate insiders own 25.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Z has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised shares of Zillow Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Zillow Group from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Gordon Haskett raised Zillow Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Zillow Group from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Zillow Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zillow Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.14.

Zillow Group Trading Down 2.0%

Z stock opened at $74.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a PE ratio of -528.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 29.11 and a beta of 2.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.12. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.51 and a 1-year high of $93.88.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $729.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.28 million. Zillow Group had a negative net margin of 1.29% and a negative return on equity of 0.56%. On average, analysts forecast that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

About Zillow Group

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.