Royal Bank of Canada Has $1.82 Million Holdings in Zillow Group, Inc. $ZG

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its Zillow Group position by 57.8% in the first quarter, selling 60,326 shares and retaining 44,076 shares valued at approximately $1.82 million. Other institutions, including Norges Bank, M&T Bank, UBS and Tiger Global, increased their holdings.
• Zillow exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.52 versus the $0.44 consensus and revenue of $772 million, up 17.9% year over year. However, rental concessions increased, signaling continued competitive pressure in the rental market.
• Analysts have generally lowered their price targets, and Zillow carries a consensus “Hold” rating with a $52.29 target. Shares opened at $35.28, well below their 12-month high of $90.22.

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its position in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG - Free Report) by 57.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,076 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 60,326 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in Zillow Group were worth $1,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zillow Group during the 4th quarter worth about $152,050,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 38,344.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,604,270 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $120,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,097 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,018,448 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $69,489,000 after purchasing an additional 313,643 shares during the period. Tiger Global Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 1,023,733 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $69,849,000 after purchasing an additional 240,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 271.9% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 293,718 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $21,864,000 after purchasing an additional 214,743 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Errol G. Samuelson sold 3,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.24, for a total value of $107,992.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 130,885 shares in the company, valued at $4,481,502.40. This trade represents a 2.35% 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 hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,169 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.37, for a total value of $112,087.53. Following the transaction, the insider owned 44,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,576,122.57. This trade represents a 6.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 46,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,612,148. 29.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ZG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Zillow Group from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Zillow Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $46.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $46.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Zillow Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.29.

Key Headlines Impacting Zillow Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Zillow Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. asking rents rose to $1,962 in July, increasing 2.3% from a year earlier—the fastest growth in more than a year. Strong rental demand could support Zillow’s traffic, advertising activity and rental-related revenue. Rents near $2,000, rising at the fastest pace in over a year
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Jeremy Wacksman, CFO Jeremy Hofmann, CAO Jennifer Rock, CTO David Beitel and other insiders sold shares worth roughly $1.5 million in aggregate. The transactions were made under pre-arranged trading plans or to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, making them a relatively weak signal of deteriorating management confidence. Zillow Group insider filings
• Negative Sentiment: Rental concessions increased to 39.8% of Zillow listings in July from 35.9% a year earlier. Although rent growth remains positive, the higher use of concessions suggests landlords still face competitive pressure, which could temper the benefit to Zillow’s rental marketplace.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have recently lowered several price targets, including Wells Fargo’s reduction to $35 and Canaccord Genuity’s reduction to $40. Zillow Group’s consensus rating remains “Hold,” despite its latest quarterly earnings beat of $0.52 per share versus the $0.44 estimate. Zillow Group analyst and stock information

Zillow Group Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ZG opened at $35.28 on Wednesday. Zillow Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.03 and a twelve month high of $90.22. The stock's 50 day moving average is $33.01 and its 200-day moving average is $39.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 160.37, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.95.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $772.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $758.25 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. Zillow Group's revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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