Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,387,519 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,544 shares during the period. CoStar Group makes up about 0.8% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 4.73% of CoStar Group worth $1,462,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in CoStar Group during the first quarter worth $4,223,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in CoStar Group by 390.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 99,800 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,641,000 after buying an additional 79,467 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 5.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 477,691 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,145,000 after acquiring an additional 23,987 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of CoStar Group during the first quarter worth $802,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 31.1% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 40,525 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,005,000 after acquiring an additional 9,618 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.60% of the company’s stock.

CoStar Group Price Performance

Shares of CSGP opened at $74.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.69 billion, a PE ratio of 170.16 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.13. CoStar Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.26 and a twelve month high of $100.38. The company has a current ratio of 9.63, a quick ratio of 9.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. CoStar Group had a return on equity of 3.53% and a net margin of 6.57%. The firm had revenue of $692.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $695.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. CoStar Group’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CoStar Group

In other CoStar Group news, Director Michael R. Klein sold 71,633 shares of CoStar Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $5,350,268.77. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,913,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,919,389.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other CoStar Group news, Director Michael R. Klein sold 71,633 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $5,350,268.77. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,913,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,919,389.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew C. Florance acquired 14,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,099,963.77. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,263,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,315,527.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CSGP shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered CoStar Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $96.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of CoStar Group from $107.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of CoStar Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on CoStar Group from $109.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on CoStar Group from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.25.

About CoStar Group

CoStar Group, Inc provides information, analytics, and online marketplace services to the commercial real estate, hospitality, residential, and related professionals industries in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company offers CoStar Property that provides inventory of office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, and student housing properties and land; CoStar Sales, a robust database of comparable commercial real estate sales transactions; CoStar Market Analytics to view and report on aggregated market and submarket trends; and CoStar Tenant, an online business-to-business prospecting and analytical tool that provides tenant information.