Ziff Davis, Inc. $ZD Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Ziff Davis stake by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 337,243 shares and leaving it with 2,213,212 shares worth about $77.8 million.
• Insider selling also occurred, with EVP Jeremy Rossen selling 4,347 shares at $45.75 each for about $198,875, a 16.21% reduction in his position.
• Ziff Davis reported slightly better-than-expected quarterly earnings with EPS of $0.73 and revenue of $267.64 million, but analysts remain cautious overall with a Hold consensus and average price target of $47.25.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,213,212 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 337,243 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 5.60% of Ziff Davis worth $77,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZD. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 75.6% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 772,700 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,440,000 after purchasing an additional 332,674 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 86.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 408,449 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $15,562,000 after purchasing an additional 188,844 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 552,385 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $21,046,000 after purchasing an additional 174,287 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 206.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 251,781 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,621,000 after purchasing an additional 169,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 374.3% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 125,475 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,960,000 after purchasing an additional 99,018 shares in the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeremy Rossen sold 4,347 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.75, for a total value of $198,875.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,027,636.50. The trade was a 16.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Ziff Davis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZD opened at $45.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 39.89 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.96 and a 200 day moving average of $38.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Ziff Davis, Inc. has a one year low of $22.45 and a one year high of $50.55.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $267.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.32 million. Ziff Davis had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ziff Davis, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ZD shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ziff Davis from $38.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ziff Davis from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ziff Davis from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $48.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a report on Monday, May 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.25.

Ziff Davis Company Profile

Ziff Davis, Inc is a digital media and internet company that operates a diverse portfolio of online brands, subscription-based services and performance marketing platforms. The company specializes in technology publishing and digital marketing solutions, offering content, reviews and insights tailored to consumer and enterprise audiences. Ziff Davis's flagship media properties include PCMag, which provides expert reviews and comparisons of consumer electronics and software, as well as IGN, a leading destination for gaming news, reviews and entertainment coverage.

Founded in 1927 by William B.

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