Maplelane Capital LLC Has $4.76 Million Stock Position in Zillow Group, Inc. $Z

Maplelane Capital LLC lessened its stake in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) by 27.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,000 shares during the quarter. Maplelane Capital LLC’s holdings in Zillow Group were worth $4,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of Z. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in Zillow Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 10,953,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,241,000 after buying an additional 94,569 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,826,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $738,554,000 after acquiring an additional 191,058 shares in the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC lifted its holdings in Zillow Group by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 6,056,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011,813 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Zillow Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,838,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,882,000 after acquiring an additional 143,726 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Zillow Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,363,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,898,000 after buying an additional 55,323 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Z has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Zillow Group from $84.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Zillow Group from $50.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold 3,364 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total value of $125,241.72. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 65,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,429,071.35. This represents a 4.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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. Also, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.40, for a total transaction of $205,737.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 68,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,554,981. This trade represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,910 shares of company stock valued at $1,605,732. 25.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zillow Group News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Zillow faces renewed legal overhang after Bleichmar Fonti & Auld said a class action was filed over alleged securities fraud linked to its anticompetitive agreement, adding pressure from potential regulatory and litigation risks. Article: Zillow Sued for Fraud Over Misrepresentations about its Anticompetitive Agreement
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms, including ClaimsFiler, Kahn Swick & Foti, Rosen, Faruqi & Faruqi, and Pomerantz, issued investor alerts urging shareholders who bought Zillow shares during the class period to seek counsel or pursue lead-plaintiff status, keeping the litigation story in focus. Article: Zillow Shareholder Alert: ClaimsFiler Reminds Investors…
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, so it does not appear to be a driver of the stock move.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zillow’s rent report noted U.S. asking rents rose 2.2% year over year in June, while concessions remained elevated; this is informative for the housing backdrop but not a direct catalyst for the shares. Article: Rent is ticking up, but so are the deals

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ Z opened at $30.76 on Friday. Zillow Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.23 and a fifty-two week high of $93.88. The stock has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 123.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.44 and a 200-day moving average of $43.91.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 2.27%.The business had revenue of $708.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $705.10 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Zillow Group 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.