Weitz Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Key Points

• Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in CoStar Group by 2.4%, now owning 911,600 shares, which represents 3.8% of its total assets.
• CoStar Group reported a quarterly EPS of $0.17, beating estimates of $0.14, with a revenue of $781.30 million, exceeding analysts' expectations of $772.06 million.
• Analysts have an overall positive outlook on CoStar Group, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.25.

Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 911,600 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 21,725 shares during the period. CoStar Group makes up approximately 3.8% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned 0.22% of CoStar Group worth $72,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of CoStar Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CoStar Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 137.4% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 406 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CoStar Group in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in CoStar Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.60% of the company's stock.

CoStar Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSGP traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $96.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,818,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,979,112. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 5.83 and a current ratio of 5.83. CoStar Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.26 and a twelve month high of $97.43. The firm has a market cap of $40.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 385.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.85. The business's fifty day moving average price is $83.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.37.

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

Insider Transactions at CoStar Group

In related news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 2,033 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total value of $188,764.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 25,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,837.35. This represents a 7.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Frederick G. Saint sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.23, for a total transaction of $2,330,750.00. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CSGP has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of CoStar Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CoStar Group from $87.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stephens upgraded shares of CoStar Group to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 16th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CoStar Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.25.

CoStar Group Company 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.