Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) COO Jun Choo Sells 1,228 Shares

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) COO Jun Choo sold 1,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.95, for a total transaction of $46,602.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 107,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,087,177.05. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Zillow Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ZG traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.06. 1,220,724 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,107,114. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.67. The company has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 152.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 2.04. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.26 and a 1 year high of $90.22.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $708.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $705.17 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Key Zillow Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow highlighted survey results showing most prospective home sellers want broad public exposure rather than private listing networks. The company said 85% of soon-to-be sellers are more likely to hire an agent who can pre-market to the broadest online audience, reinforcing Zillow’s core pitch that open-market listings benefit sellers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zillow also emphasized its data showing sellers lose money in same-agent dual agency deals and off-MLS listings, a message that could support demand for Zillow’s public-listing ecosystem and advertising tools. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan/other analyst commentary pointed to a lower price target for Zillow Group, suggesting Wall Street expectations have softened and may be limiting upside sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple Zillow insiders, including the CEO, COO, CTO, CAO, general counsel, and another executive, sold shares this week. The company said the sales were mainly to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards and some were made under a 10b5-1 plan, but the cluster of insider selling can still create a bearish overhang for investors. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm said it is investigating potential securities claims against Zillow, adding legal uncertainty that may be a headwind for the stock. Article Title

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Zillow Group by 4.7% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 15,433 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP boosted its position in Zillow Group by 172.4% during the first quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 40,115 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after buying an additional 25,386 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in Zillow Group during the first quarter valued at about $134,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Zillow Group by 18.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 554,460 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,947,000 after buying an additional 85,367 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its position in Zillow Group by 11.2% during the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 12,608 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the period. 20.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on ZG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $53.00 target price on Zillow Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Zillow Group from $56.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research raised Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.24.

Zillow Group Company Profile

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) is a U.S.-based online real estate marketplace that connects consumers, real estate professionals and mortgage lenders through a suite of digital products and advertising services. Founded in 2006 by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company operates a portfolio of consumer-facing brands and tools designed to simplify home search, rental discovery, valuation and mortgage shopping.

Zillow’s core products include its consumer websites and mobile apps that list homes for sale and rent, the Zestimate automated home value estimate, and marketplaces that connect buyers and renters with agents and lenders.