Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Zillow Group, Inc. $Z

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 37,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,919,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Zillow Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,002,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,611,327,000 after purchasing an additional 412,571 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,825,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,788,000 after buying an additional 93,339 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 63.6% in the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,978,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $278,710,000 after buying an additional 1,546,577 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,142,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $219,467,000 after acquiring an additional 69,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atreides Management LP boosted its holdings in Zillow Group by 82.5% during the 2nd quarter. Atreides Management LP now owns 856,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,963,000 after acquiring an additional 386,947 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Z has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Wednesday. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Zillow Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Exane BNP Paribas raised shares of Zillow Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Zillow Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.83.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Zillow Group stock opened at $68.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a PE ratio of -485.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 2.07. Zillow Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.51 and a fifty-two week high of $93.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.08.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $729.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.28 million. Zillow Group had a negative return on equity of 0.56% and a negative net margin of 1.29%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Zillow Group

In other news, General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold 2,722 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.41, for a total transaction of $183,490.02. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 37,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,559,827.34. This represents a 6.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 10,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $759,741.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,428,492.88. The trade was a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 67,511 shares of company stock valued at $4,766,357. 25.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.