Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) Shares Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) by 66.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,600 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,600 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Ziff Davis were worth $1,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ziff Davis by 4.6% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,623 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Ziff Davis by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 113,196 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,231,000 after buying an additional 8,625 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Ziff Davis by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 360,030 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $19,820,000 after buying an additional 63,458 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ziff Davis by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,057,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $113,255,000 after acquiring an additional 257,056 shares during the period. Finally, ClariVest Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ziff Davis in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,511,000. 99.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ziff Davis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZD opened at $46.37 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Ziff Davis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.76 and a 52-week high of $70.90.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The technology company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.08). Ziff Davis had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 5.86%. The company had revenue of $320.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ziff Davis, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Ziff Davis from $58.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ziff Davis in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Ziff Davis from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.50.

Ziff Davis Company Profile

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.