Bradley Owens Sells 2,246 Shares of Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Stock

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) General Counsel Bradley Owens sold 2,246 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total transaction of $85,190.78. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 68,609 shares in the company, valued at $2,602,339.37. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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

Shares of Z stock opened at $37.66 on Friday. Zillow Group, Inc. has a one year low of $36.76 and a one year high of $93.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.97 and its 200 day moving average is $57.26. The company has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 150.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 2.07.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in Z. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Zillow Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $196,677,000. Scge Management L.P. bought a new stake in Zillow Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $133,990,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd raised its stake in Zillow Group by 24,803.7% during the 4th quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd now owns 1,729,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,369 shares during the period. Tiger Global Management LLC raised its stake in Zillow Group by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 7,368,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $304,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312,000 shares during the period. Finally, Soma Equity Partners LP raised its stake in Zillow Group by 389.5% during the 3rd quarter. Soma Equity Partners LP now owns 1,468,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168,492 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on Z shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $84.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.75.

Zillow Group News Roundup

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

Zillow Group Company 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.