Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) General Counsel Bradley Owens Sells 3,364 Shares

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

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Zillow Group stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.66. 3,070,440 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,081,978. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 150.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 2.07. Zillow Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.76 and a fifty-two week high of $93.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.40.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $708.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $705.10 million. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 2.27%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Z has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Zillow Group from $84.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Zillow Group from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Zillow Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 21.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 20,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 3,653 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 186.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 1,895.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 128,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after acquiring an additional 121,929 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Zillow Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow published new survey data supporting its marketplace strategy, showing most soon-to-be sellers prefer broad public exposure over private listing networks. The findings reinforce Zillow’s argument that full-market visibility and real-time demand signals help sellers achieve better outcomes. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman was featured in an interview about the company’s evolution from a desktop-only search engine into a major real-estate app. The article is more of a branding/strategy profile than a near-term financial catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold shares on May 14 and May 15, though the trades were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and were tied to tax withholding from vesting equity awards. Insider sales can still weigh on sentiment when the stock is already under legal scrutiny.
• Negative Sentiment: Several plaintiff-side law firms announced investigations into Zillow, increasing the risk of distraction, legal costs, and possible headline pressure on the shares. Article Title

About Zillow Group

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.