821,496 Shares in Ziff Davis, Inc. $ZD Purchased by Rice Hall James & Associates LLC

Key Points

• Rice Hall James & Associates purchased 821,496 Ziff Davis shares worth approximately $43 million, making the company 2.1% of its portfolio and giving it a roughly 2.23% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 99.76% of Ziff Davis.
• Analysts raised several price targets, including Susquehanna’s increase to $75 and RBC’s to $65, although the overall consensus remains “Hold” with a $56.62 target.
• Ziff Davis beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.03 versus $0.81 expected, but revenue fell 18.7% year over year to $286.74 million. Insiders have sold 36,641 shares worth about $1.76 million over the past 90 days.

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 821,496 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $43,022,000. Ziff Davis makes up about 2.1% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned approximately 2.23% of Ziff Davis as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZD. Pale Fire Capital SE raised its position in Ziff Davis by 130.0% during the first quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 2,783,366 shares of the technology company's stock worth $116,790,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573,414 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ziff Davis by 689.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 974,591 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,894,000 after purchasing an additional 851,163 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ziff Davis by 260.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 597,573 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $21,005,000 after purchasing an additional 431,828 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ziff Davis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,361,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ziff Davis by 88.5% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 399,259 shares of the technology company's stock worth $14,034,000 after purchasing an additional 187,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeremy Rossen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total transaction of $376,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,462 shares in the company, valued at $679,714. This trade represents a 35.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Lori A. Tansley sold 1,400 shares of Ziff Davis stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.76, for a total value of $76,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,000.92. This represents a 64.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,641 shares of company stock valued at $1,755,306. Insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ziff Davis from $48.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Ziff Davis from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ziff Davis from $30.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ziff Davis from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Ziff Davis in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.62.

Ziff Davis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZD opened at $54.31 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.08. Ziff Davis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.45 and a 12 month high of $58.06.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.22. Ziff Davis had a net margin of 48.57% and a return on equity of 10.73%. The business had revenue of $286.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $286.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

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.

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