Legal & General Group Plc Invests $94.31 Million in Ziff Davis, Inc. $ZD

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,800,921 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,314,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 5.25% of Ziff Davis as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZD. Pale Fire Capital SE lifted its holdings in Ziff Davis by 130.0% during the 1st quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 2,783,366 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,414 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ziff Davis by 689.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 974,591 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,894,000 after buying an additional 851,163 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ziff Davis during the second quarter valued at about $43,022,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ziff Davis by 260.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 597,573 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $21,005,000 after buying an additional 431,828 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ziff Davis in the second quarter worth about $16,361,000. 99.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ziff Davis Stock Performance

NASDAQ ZD opened at $55.82 on Friday. Ziff Davis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.45 and a 52-week high of $58.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.83 and a 200-day moving average of $45.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.22. Ziff Davis had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 48.57%.The business had revenue of $286.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $286.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 18.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeremy Rossen sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total transaction of $376,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $679,714. This trade represents a 35.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kirk P. Mcdonald sold 1,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.65, for a total value of $50,148.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,282.20. The trade was a 7.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,807 shares of company stock worth $1,695,424. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $48.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ziff Davis from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ziff Davis from $30.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ziff Davis from $48.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Ziff Davis from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.62.

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.