Fayez Sarofim & Co Increases Position in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its holdings in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,043,090 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 94,715 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in CoStar Group were worth $146,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CoStar Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CoStar Group by 534.8% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 419 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CoStar Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in CoStar Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in CoStar Group by 414.4% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 499 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.60% of the company’s stock.

CoStar Group Price Performance

Shares of CSGP opened at $79.70 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 227.71 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 9.63 and a current ratio of 8.96. CoStar Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.26 and a fifty-two week high of $93.94.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.22 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.00 million. Research analysts predict that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CoStar Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at CoStar Group

In other CoStar Group news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 1,749 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.90, for a total value of $139,745.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,534.40. This represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 equities analysts have recently issued reports on CSGP shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on CoStar Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of CoStar Group from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on CoStar Group from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on CoStar Group in a research report on Friday, February 28th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CoStar Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.54.

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.