Jennifer Rock Sells 990 Shares of Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Stock

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) CAO Jennifer Rock sold 990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.24, for a total transaction of $33,897.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 58,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,011,668.48. This trade represents a 1.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Zillow Group Price Performance

Shares of Zillow Group stock opened at $34.57 on Wednesday. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.23 and a 1 year high of $93.88. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 157.14, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.73.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $772.00 million for 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in Zillow Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 10,953,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,241,000 after purchasing an additional 94,569 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Zillow Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,826,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $738,554,000 after buying an additional 191,058 shares during the period. Tiger Global Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 21.7% during the first quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 7,368,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $304,927,000 after buying an additional 1,312,000 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,838,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,882,000 after buying an additional 143,726 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,363,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,898,000 after buying an additional 55,323 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Zillow Group

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Z has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research lowered Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Zillow Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Zillow Group from $95.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zillow Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.75.

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.