Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $734,000 Position in Ziff Davis, Inc. $ZD

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 17,500 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Ziff Davis by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 160,656 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,696 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ziff Davis by 1.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 188,595 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,709,000 after buying an additional 2,347 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ziff Davis by 46.2% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 100,549 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,044,000 after buying an additional 31,765 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ziff Davis during the second quarter valued at $927,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ziff Davis in the 2nd quarter valued at $380,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.76% of the company’s stock.

Ziff Davis Stock Up 0.3%

ZD traded up $0.17 on Tuesday, reaching $53.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 40,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 838,460. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.75 and a beta of 1.08. Ziff Davis, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.45 and a fifty-two week high of $54.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.80.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. Ziff Davis had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business had revenue of $267.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ziff Davis, Inc. will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ziff Davis

In other Ziff Davis news, Director Kirk P. Mcdonald sold 1,075 shares of Ziff Davis stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.65, for a total value of $50,148.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,282.20. The trade was a 7.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Rossen sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total transaction of $376,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $679,714. The trade was a 35.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,422 shares of company stock worth $1,468,864. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ZD. Barclays raised their price objective on Ziff Davis from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler set a $48.00 price target on shares of Ziff Davis in a report on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Ziff Davis from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Ziff Davis in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ziff Davis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.25.

About Ziff Davis

Ziff Davis, Inc is a digital media and internet company that operates a diverse portfolio of online brands, subscription-based services and performance marketing platforms. The company specializes in technology publishing and digital marketing solutions, offering content, reviews and insights tailored to consumer and enterprise audiences. Ziff Davis’s flagship media properties include PCMag, which provides expert reviews and comparisons of consumer electronics and software, as well as IGN, a leading destination for gaming news, reviews and entertainment coverage.

Founded in 1927 by William B.