Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its stake in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,148 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 304 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in CoStar Group were worth $440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CSGP. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in CoStar Group by 101.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,553 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after buying an additional 7,317 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 289,470 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,838,000 after acquiring an additional 8,169 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in CoStar Group by 11.9% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 27,914 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,966 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in CoStar Group in the third quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in CoStar Group by 12.5% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,359 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. 96.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CoStar Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSGP opened at $80.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 228.94 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.83. CoStar Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.26 and a fifty-two week high of $97.64. 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 (NASDAQ:CSGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. CoStar Group had a net margin of 5.07% and a return on equity of 3.11%. The business had revenue of $709.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CoStar Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CoStar Group news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 1,749 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.90, for a total transaction of $139,745.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,456 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,534.40. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of CoStar Group from $99.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of CoStar Group in a research note on Friday, February 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on CoStar Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on CoStar Group in a research report on Friday, February 28th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.07.

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.