Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Zillow Group, Inc. $ZG

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 2,228,493 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,050,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Zillow Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 80,496 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Zillow Group by 4,130.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 846 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Zillow Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $136,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Zillow Group by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc increased its stake in Zillow Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 26,376 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. 20.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zillow Group Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:ZG opened at $35.59 on Thursday. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.68 and a 52-week high of $90.22. The stock has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.97 and its 200 day moving average is $53.31.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $708.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $705.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Zillow Group’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ZG. DA Davidson set a $75.00 price objective on Zillow Group in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings cut Zillow Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group cut their target price on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Zillow Group from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,072 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total value of $331,490.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 153,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,616,161.46. This represents a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,078 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.40, for a total value of $115,117.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,630.40. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders have sold 42,119 shares of company stock valued at $1,578,206 over the last 90 days. 29.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zillow Group Profile

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) is a U.S.-based online real estate marketplace that connects consumers, real estate professionals and mortgage lenders through a suite of digital products and advertising services. Founded in 2006 by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company operates a portfolio of consumer-facing brands and tools designed to simplify home search, rental discovery, valuation and mortgage shopping.

Zillow’s core products include its consumer websites and mobile apps that list homes for sale and rent, the Zestimate automated home value estimate, and marketplaces that connect buyers and renters with agents and lenders.