ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $4.96 Million in Airbnb, Inc. $ABNB

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel bought a new position in Airbnb in Q4, acquiring 36,515 shares valued at about $4.96 million.
• Insider selling has been significant — insiders sold 363,510 shares (~$46.45M) over the past 90 days, including Joseph Gebbia's 58,000-share sale and Nathan Blecharczyk's 4,260-share sale; insiders now own 27.83% of the stock.
• Wall Street's consensus is a "Hold" with an average price target of $149.40; Airbnb missed quarterly EPS ($0.56 vs. $0.66) but revenue rose 12.9% to $2.78B, and the stock trades at a PE of 33.13 (market cap ≈ $81.5B).

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 36,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,956,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its position in Airbnb by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 1,874 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 26,389 shares of the company's stock worth $3,582,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,295 shares of the company's stock worth $1,007,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,226 shares of the company's stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Airbnb by 7.5% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the company's stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 80.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Airbnb

In other news, insider Nathan Blecharczyk sold 4,260 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.29, for a total value of $533,735.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 49,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,170,532.50. This represents a 7.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Gebbia sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $7,730,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 460,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,310,799.20. This trade represents a 11.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 363,510 shares of company stock valued at $46,447,668. 27.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Airbnb from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Tigress Financial reduced their price target on Airbnb from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Airbnb from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Argus raised shares of Airbnb to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Airbnb from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $129.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $149.40.

Airbnb Price Performance

NASDAQ ABNB opened at $133.85 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $127.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.25. Airbnb, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.79 and a fifty-two week high of $143.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.13, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.15.

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.10). Airbnb had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 20.51%.The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. Airbnb's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Airbnb, Inc. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

About Airbnb

Airbnb, Inc NASDAQ: ABNB operates a global online marketplace that connects travelers with hosts offering short-term lodging, unique accommodations and related travel experiences. The company's core platform enables individuals and professional property managers to list private homes, apartments, single rooms and entire properties, while providing search, booking and payment processing for guests. Airbnb earns revenue primarily through service fees charged to guests and hosts and offers tools to facilitate reservations, communications, and logistics between parties.

Beyond accommodations, Airbnb has expanded its product portfolio to include curated experiences led by local hosts, higher-end offerings such as Airbnb Luxe, and programs aimed at enhancing quality and safety like Airbnb Plus.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.