Insider Selling: Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) General Counsel Sells $85,190.78 in Stock

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) General Counsel Bradley Owens sold 2,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total transaction of $85,190.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 68,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,602,339.37. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:Z opened at $37.66 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.12. The company has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 150.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 2.07. Zillow Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.76 and a twelve month high of $93.88.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $708.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $705.10 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 1.41%. On average, analysts expect that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on Z shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Zillow Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays raised shares of Zillow Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jain Global LLC purchased a new position in Zillow Group during the third quarter worth about $6,220,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,919,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 63.1% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 85,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,565,000 after acquiring an additional 32,975 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $18,141,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,073,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,777,841,000 after acquiring an additional 71,336 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Zillow Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Zillow Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow published new survey data supporting its marketplace strategy, showing most soon-to-be sellers prefer broad public exposure over private listing networks. The findings reinforce Zillow’s argument that full-market visibility and real-time demand signals help sellers achieve better outcomes. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman was featured in an interview about the company’s evolution from a desktop-only search engine into a major real-estate app. The article is more of a branding/strategy profile than a near-term financial catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold shares on May 14 and May 15, though the trades were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and were tied to tax withholding from vesting equity awards. Insider sales can still weigh on sentiment when the stock is already under legal scrutiny.
• Negative Sentiment: Several plaintiff-side law firms announced investigations into Zillow, increasing the risk of distraction, legal costs, and possible headline pressure on the shares. Article Title

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.