Vantage Investment Partners LLC Grows Position in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP - Free Report) by 24.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 505,016 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 100,127 shares during the quarter. CoStar Group accounts for approximately 3.2% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.12% of CoStar Group worth $38,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CSGP. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CoStar Group during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in CoStar Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in CoStar Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in CoStar Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in CoStar Group by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 702 shares of the technology company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. 96.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CoStar Group Stock Performance

Shares of CoStar Group stock traded down $0.46 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.41. 2,535,016 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,380,541. The stock's fifty day moving average is $76.03 and its 200 day moving average is $77.82. CoStar Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.26 and a 12 month high of $100.38. The stock has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a PE ratio of 172.43 and a beta of 0.82. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. CoStar Group had a return on equity of 3.53% and a net margin of 6.57%. The company had revenue of $692.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $695.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. CoStar Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CSGP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of CoStar Group from $108.00 to $99.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on CoStar Group from $111.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on CoStar Group from $107.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut CoStar Group from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One 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, CoStar Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew C. Florance acquired 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,099,963.77. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,263,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $94,315,527.66. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other CoStar Group news, Director Michael R. Klein sold 71,633 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $5,350,268.77. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,913,501 shares in the company, valued at $142,919,389.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew C. Florance bought 14,731 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,099,963.77. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,263,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $94,315,527.66. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. 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.