Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. has increased its stake in CoStar Group by 24.1%, now owning 20,739 shares valued at approximately $1.64 million.
• CoStar Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.17, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.14, with revenues reaching $781.3 million.
• Research analyst ratings reflect a consensus of "Moderate Buy" for CoStar Group, with a price target averaging $93.25.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP - Free Report) by 24.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,739 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,022 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in CoStar Group were worth $1,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bamco Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 19,203,564 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,374,783,000 after buying an additional 418,128 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,032,363 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,004,578,000 after buying an additional 4,345,267 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,475,755 shares of the technology company's stock worth $819,678,000 after buying an additional 166,769 shares in the last quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 9,313,880 shares of the technology company's stock worth $666,781,000 after buying an additional 379,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,415,895 shares of the technology company's stock worth $459,314,000 after buying an additional 1,267,263 shares in the last quarter. 96.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSGP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America initiated coverage on CoStar Group in a report on Friday, May 30th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $79.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on CoStar Group from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CoStar Group from $87.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CoStar Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.25.

CoStar Group Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ CSGP traded down $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.81. The company had a trading volume of 710,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,191,951. The company's fifty day moving average price is $83.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.25. CoStar Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.26 and a 12 month high of $97.43. The stock has a market cap of $41.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 387.34, a PEG ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 5.83, a current ratio of 5.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. CoStar Group had a return on equity of 2.88% and a net margin of 3.57%. The company had revenue of $781.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 2,033 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total transaction of $188,764.05. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 25,771 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,837.35. This represents a 7.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Frederick G. Saint sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.23, for a total value of $2,330,750.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 319,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,790,620.97. The trade was a 7.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CoStar Group Profile

CoStar Group, Inc provides information, analytics, and online marketplace services to the commercial real estate, hospitality, residential, and related professionals industries in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company offers CoStar Property that provides inventory of office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, and student housing properties and land; CoStar Sales, a robust database of comparable commercial real estate sales transactions; CoStar Market Analytics to view and report on aggregated market and submarket trends; and CoStar Tenant, an online business-to-business prospecting and analytical tool that provides tenant information.