Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 123,275 Shares of Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) by 212.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 181,314 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 123,275 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Ziff Davis were worth $12,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Ziff Davis by 337.5% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 490 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Ziff Davis during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ziff Davis by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 851 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 86.2% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 996 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ziff Davis in the third quarter worth about $225,000. 99.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ziff Davis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZD opened at $49.52 on Thursday. Ziff Davis, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.50 and a fifty-two week high of $75.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.76 and a current ratio of 2.76. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 60.39 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.48.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The technology company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.02. Ziff Davis had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The company had revenue of $389.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.71 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ziff Davis, Inc. will post 6.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ZD shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ziff Davis from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Ziff Davis from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wedbush upped their price objective on Ziff Davis from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Ziff Davis from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ziff Davis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ziff Davis

In related news, EVP Jeremy Rossen sold 4,162 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.43, for a total value of $288,967.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $504,131.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.

About Ziff Davis

Ziff Davis, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media and internet company in the United States and internationally. The company offers PCMag, an online resource for laboratory-based product reviews, technology news, buying guides, and research papers; Mashable for publishing technology and culture content; Spiceworks Ziff Davis provides digital content of IT products and services; retailMeNot, a savings destination platform; Offers.com, a coupon and deals website; and event-based properties, including BlackFriday.com, TheBlackFriday.com, BestBlackFriday.com, and DealsofAmerica.com.