Jeremy Hofmann Sells 5,661 Shares of Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Stock

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $193,492.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,021,541.92. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.

Jeremy Hofmann also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 13th, Jeremy Hofmann sold 3,510 shares of Zillow Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.24, for a total value of $120,182.40.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Shares of Zillow Group stock opened at $34.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.73. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.23 and a 52 week high of $93.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 157.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.98.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $772.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.10 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. Research analysts forecast that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on Z. Evercore downgraded Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Zillow Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zillow Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zillow Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.75.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Zillow Group by 4.7% during 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 during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Zillow Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its position in shares of Zillow Group by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 3,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Zillow Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 55,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,269,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 4,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zillow Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rents are accelerating: Zillow’s Observed Rent Index showed typical U.S. asking rent reached $1,962 in July, up 2.3% year over year—the fastest growth in more than a year. Strong rental demand could support Zillow’s listings, advertising and property-manager businesses. Rents near $2,000, rising at the fastest pace in over a year
• Neutral Sentiment: Rental conditions are mixed: Although rents are rising, 39.8% of Zillow-listed rentals offered concessions in July, compared with 35.9% a year earlier. This suggests demand is healthy but property managers still face enough competition to provide discounts, potentially limiting revenue benefits.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales were largely tax-related: Executives and insiders, including CEO Jeremy Wacksman, CFO Jeremy Hofmann, CAO Jennifer Rock, CTO David Beitel and others, sold a combined 35,373 shares worth roughly $1.21 million. The transactions occurred under a pre-arranged trading plan or to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, reducing—but not eliminating—the bearish significance. Zillow Group insider trading report
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst views remain cautious: Recent target-price reductions and an Evercore downgrade to “hold” indicate concern about Zillow’s outlook and valuation. The consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy,” but the stock’s elevated earnings multiple and price well below its 200-day moving average highlight ongoing investor concerns.

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.