Ruffer LLP Raises Stock Position in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP has increased its stake in CoStar Group, Inc. by 66.7%, acquiring an additional 108,233 shares to bring their total holdings to 270,412 shares, which represents 0.8% of their investment portfolio.
• CoStar Group reported a 15.2% year-over-year revenue increase to $781.30 million and earnings per share of $0.17, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings and price targets for CoStar Group, with JPMorgan Chase raising its price objective from $87.00 to $101.00 and labeling the stock as "overweight."

Ruffer LLP grew its stake in shares of CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP - Free Report) by 66.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 270,412 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 108,233 shares during the quarter. CoStar Group comprises approximately 0.8% of Ruffer LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Ruffer LLP owned approximately 0.06% of CoStar Group worth $21,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in CoStar Group by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,032,363 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,004,578,000 after buying an additional 4,345,267 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $459,314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,263 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in CoStar Group by 2,181.8% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,129,307 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $80,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079,815 shares during the period. ShawSpring Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CoStar Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,133,000. Finally, Kensico Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in CoStar Group during the 4th quarter worth $51,244,000. 96.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CoStar Group

In other CoStar Group news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 2,033 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total transaction of $188,764.05. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 25,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,837.35. This trade represents a 7.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Frederick G. Saint sold 25,000 shares of CoStar Group stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was 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 $29,790,620.97. The trade was a 7.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on CSGP shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CoStar Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stephens raised shares of CoStar Group to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on CoStar Group from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of CoStar Group from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CoStar Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.25.

CoStar Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CSGP traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $94.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,103,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,183,137. CoStar Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.26 and a one year high of $97.43. The company has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a PE ratio of 378.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.63. The company has a current ratio of 5.83, a quick ratio of 5.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

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.