Swedbank AB Sells 110,000 Shares of Zillow Group, Inc. $Z

Key Points

• Swedbank AB sharply reduced its Zillow stake in the fourth quarter, selling 110,000 shares and cutting its position by 92%. It now holds 9,529 shares worth about $650,000.
• Zillow beat quarterly expectations on May 6, reporting EPS of $0.53 versus estimates of $0.43 and revenue of $708 million, slightly above forecasts. Analysts expect the company to post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Wall Street remains cautiously optimistic despite mixed signals, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00. However, recent insider selling and several lowered price targets show some near-term caution.

Swedbank AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z - Free Report) by 92.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 110,000 shares during the period. Swedbank AB's holdings in Zillow Group were worth $650,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of Z. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Zillow Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zillow Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Zillow Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 58.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 546 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on Z shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zelman & Associates raised Zillow Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Zillow Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Zillow Group from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.00.

Zillow Group Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ Z opened at $36.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.20, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 2.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.04. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.70 and a 12 month high of $93.88.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $708.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $705.10 million. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 2.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Errol G. Samuelson sold 2,939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.97, for a total value of $111,593.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 134,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,089,460.83. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,501 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.40, for a total value of $205,737.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,554,981. The trade was a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 42,119 shares of company stock worth $1,578,206 in the last three months. 25.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc is an online real estate marketplace company that operates a portfolio of consumer-facing websites and mobile apps designed to connect buyers, sellers, renters, homeowners and real estate professionals. The company's platforms aggregate property listings, rental listings, and related information to help users search for homes, estimate property values and connect with agents and service providers. Zillow generates revenue primarily through advertising and lead-generation services for real estate professionals, property managers and mortgage lenders.

Key products and services include the Zillow and Trulia consumer websites and apps, which provide searchable listings, photos, neighborhood data and the company's automated home valuation tool known as the “Zestimate.” Zillow also offers a rentals marketplace, a mortgage marketplace and tools for home buying and selling such as Zillow Premier Agent for agent advertising and leads, as well as ancillary services designed to support transactions, including closing and title-related offerings.

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