First Trust Advisors LP Buys 851,163 Shares of Ziff Davis, Inc. $ZD

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) by 689.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 974,591 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 851,163 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Ziff Davis were worth $40,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ziff Davis by 260.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 597,573 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,005,000 after buying an additional 431,828 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ziff Davis by 88.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 399,259 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $14,034,000 after acquiring an additional 187,431 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Ziff Davis by 46.1% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 552,385 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $21,046,000 after acquiring an additional 174,287 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Ziff Davis by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 557,613 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,600,000 after acquiring an additional 149,164 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Ziff Davis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 907,721 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,906,000 after purchasing an additional 135,021 shares during the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ziff Davis Price Performance

Shares of Ziff Davis stock opened at $52.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.34 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.51 and its 200 day moving average is $42.64. Ziff Davis, Inc. has a one year low of $22.45 and a one year high of $54.97.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $267.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.32 million. Ziff Davis had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 3.26%.Ziff Davis’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ZD shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ziff Davis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Ziff Davis from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ziff Davis from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ziff Davis from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $48.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bret Richter sold 18,000 shares of Ziff Davis stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total transaction of $843,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,370,958.72. The trade was a 38.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Rossen sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total value of $376,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $679,714. This trade represents a 35.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 31,422 shares of company stock valued at $1,468,864 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

About Ziff Davis

Ziff Davis, Inc is a digital media and internet company that operates a diverse portfolio of online brands, subscription-based services and performance marketing platforms. The company specializes in technology publishing and digital marketing solutions, offering content, reviews and insights tailored to consumer and enterprise audiences. Ziff Davis’s flagship media properties include PCMag, which provides expert reviews and comparisons of consumer electronics and software, as well as IGN, a leading destination for gaming news, reviews and entertainment coverage.

Founded in 1927 by William B.