CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) Stake Lowered by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) by 52.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,080 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 242,540 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.05% of CoStar Group worth $15,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,358,331 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $177,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,177 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in CoStar Group in the third quarter worth approximately $621,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in CoStar Group by 497.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,133 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 5,940 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in CoStar Group by 101.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,553 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 7,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in CoStar Group by 79.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 293,148 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,115,000 after acquiring an additional 130,045 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CoStar Group

In other news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 1,749 shares of CoStar Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.90, for a total transaction of $139,745.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,534.40. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on CoStar Group from $99.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on CoStar Group in a research report on Friday, February 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on CoStar Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on CoStar Group from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CoStar Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.07.

CoStar Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSGP opened at $80.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 9.63 and a current ratio of 8.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $76.85 and its 200-day moving average is $75.83. CoStar Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.26 and a 52-week high of $97.64. The company has a market cap of $32.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 228.94 and a beta of 0.93.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. CoStar Group had a return on equity of 3.11% and a net margin of 5.07%. The firm had revenue of $709.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.00 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CoStar Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About CoStar Group

CoStar Group, Inc provides information, analytics, and online marketplace services to the commercial real estate, hospitality, residential, and related professionals industries in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company offers CoStar Property that provides inventory of office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, and student housing properties and land; CoStar Sales, a robust database of comparable commercial real estate sales transactions; CoStar Market Analytics to view and report on aggregated market and submarket trends; and CoStar Tenant, an online business-to-business prospecting and analytical tool that provides tenant information.