Sterling Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP - Free Report) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,679 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 26,140 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in CoStar Group were worth $5,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSGP. Polen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in CoStar Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $465,134,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CoStar Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $390,755,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in CoStar Group by 91.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,249,188 shares of the technology company's stock worth $169,678,000 after buying an additional 1,073,793 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in CoStar Group by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,358,331 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $177,913,000 after buying an additional 1,001,177 shares during the period. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 2,456,562 shares of the technology company's stock worth $175,865,000 after acquiring an additional 682,984 shares in the last quarter. 96.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSGP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on CoStar Group from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reduced 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. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of CoStar Group in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.54.

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CoStar Group Stock Performance

Shares of CSGP stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $80.51. The stock had a trading volume of 2,594,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,737,751. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 8.96 and a quick ratio of 9.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.02 billion, a PE ratio of 230.03 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50 day moving average is $77.27 and its 200 day moving average is $75.80. CoStar Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.26 and a twelve month high of $93.94.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. CoStar Group had a net margin of 5.07% and a return on equity of 3.11%. The company had revenue of $709.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.00 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CoStar Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CoStar Group

In other CoStar Group news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 1,749 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

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.