CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in shares of CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP - Free Report) by 13.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,222,133 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 343,767 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.54% of CoStar Group worth $171,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in CoStar Group in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CoStar Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of CoStar Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CoStar Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 493.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,080 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. 96.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CoStar Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSGP traded down $3.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,325,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,280,101. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.45 and a 200 day moving average of $75.98. The stock has a market cap of $30.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 170.62 and a beta of 0.83. CoStar Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.26 and a 52-week high of $100.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 9.63 and a current ratio of 9.63.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $692.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $695.91 million. CoStar Group had a return on equity of 3.53% and a net margin of 6.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of CoStar Group from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of CoStar Group from $108.00 to $99.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of CoStar Group from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of CoStar Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.25.

Insider Transactions at CoStar Group

In other news, insider Michael J. Desmarais sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.88, for a total transaction of $439,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,784.24. This represents a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew C. Florance purchased 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $74.67 per share, with a total value of $1,099,963.77. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,263,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,315,527.66. This trade represents a 1.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

CoStar Group 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.