Patten & Patten Inc. TN Cuts Stake in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN reduced its stake in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,563 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 276 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in CoStar Group were worth $613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 539,013 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,588,000 after acquiring an additional 43,443 shares during the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 9,374 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Postrock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CoStar Group in the fourth quarter worth $819,000. LBP AM SA lifted its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 994.7% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 159,426 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,413,000 after purchasing an additional 144,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 84,811 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,092,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares in the last quarter. 96.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CoStar Group Stock Up 4.4 %

NASDAQ CSGP opened at $78.73 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $75.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.66. 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 52 week low of $68.26 and a 52 week high of $100.38. The company has a market capitalization of $32.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 224.94 and a beta of 0.93.

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

CoStar Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at CoStar Group

In related news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 1,749 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.90, for a total transaction of $139,745.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CSGP shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on CoStar Group from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded CoStar Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on CoStar Group from $99.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.07.

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.