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

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) by 212.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 181,314 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 123,275 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.39% of Ziff Davis worth $12,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZD. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Ziff Davis by 4.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 681,835 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,426,000 after buying an additional 26,219 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Ziff Davis by 337.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 490 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 18.8% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,430 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ziff Davis in the third quarter valued at about $236,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Ziff Davis by 251.5% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,542 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 8,974 shares during the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on ZD shares. Wedbush boosted their price target on Ziff Davis from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Ziff Davis from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ziff Davis from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group dropped 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ziff Davis in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.17.

Ziff Davis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ZD opened at $49.52 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 2.76. Ziff Davis, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.50 and a 1 year high of $75.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.39 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Insider Activity at Ziff Davis

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

Ziff Davis 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.