HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) by 35.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,174 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zillow Group were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in Z. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Zillow Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Zillow Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Zillow Group by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Zillow Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, True Vision MN LLC lifted its position in Zillow Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. True Vision MN LLC now owns 7,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on Z. KeyCorp raised Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Zillow Group from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Zillow Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.00.

Zillow Group Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:Z opened at $71.25 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.60. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.45 and a 52 week high of $89.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -151.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 2.27.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.48). Zillow Group had a negative return on equity of 2.12% and a negative net margin of 5.01%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 1,612 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.98, for a total value of $136,987.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,782.76. This trade represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jun Choo sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.18, for a total value of $4,299,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 86,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,790,167.54. The trade was a 38.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,065 shares of company stock worth $7,660,165 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 23.76% of the company’s stock.

Zillow Group Company Profile

Zillow Group, Inc operates real estate brands in mobile applications and Websites in the United States. The company offers premier agent and rentals marketplaces, new construction marketplaces, advertising, display advertising, and business technology solutions, as well as dotloop and floor plans. It also provides mortgage originations and the sale of mortgages, and advertising to mortgage lenders and other mortgage professionals; and title and escrow services.