Insider Selling: Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Insider Sells $111,593.83 in Stock

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) insider Errol Samuelson sold 2,939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.97, for a total transaction of $111,593.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 134,039 shares in the company, valued at $5,089,460.83. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Shares of Z opened at $37.66 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $42.97 and its 200 day moving average is $57.12. Zillow Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.76 and a fifty-two week high of $93.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 150.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 2.07.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $84.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.75.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in Z. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 4.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 21.7% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 20,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,653 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 186.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 1,895.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 128,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after purchasing an additional 121,929 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zillow Group News Summary

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

Zillow Group Company Profile

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.