Marshall Wace LLP Invests $19.90 Million in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 277,930 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $19,897,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.07% of CoStar Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,475,755 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $819,678,000 after purchasing an additional 166,769 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in CoStar Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $465,134,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CoStar Group during the fourth quarter worth about $390,755,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in CoStar Group by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,234,995 shares of the technology company's stock worth $303,183,000 after acquiring an additional 486,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of CoStar Group by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,818,249 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $201,758,000 after buying an additional 133,876 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.60% of the company's stock.

CoStar Group Stock Performance

CSGP stock traded up $1.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $83.22. The company had a trading volume of 2,308,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,748,405. The company has a quick ratio of 9.63, a current ratio of 8.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CoStar Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.26 and a one year high of $93.94. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $77.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 237.77 and a beta of 0.88.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $709.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.00 million. CoStar Group had a return on equity of 3.11% and a net margin of 5.07%. Research analysts anticipate that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

CoStar Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CoStar Group

In other CoStar Group news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 1,749 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,353,534.40. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CSGP. William Blair began coverage on CoStar Group in a research report on Friday, February 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on CoStar Group from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on CoStar Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $89.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of CoStar Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.54.

CoStar Group Company Profile

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.