Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) by 109.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,070 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in GoDaddy were worth $553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GDDY. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in GoDaddy by 311.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 218 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in GoDaddy in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in GoDaddy in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in GoDaddy in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in GoDaddy by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 392 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.28% of the company’s stock.

GoDaddy Stock Performance

NYSE GDDY opened at $179.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87 and a beta of 1.07. GoDaddy Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.73 and a 1-year high of $216.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.46, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.24.

GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. GoDaddy had a net margin of 20.49% and a return on equity of 176.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that GoDaddy Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Roger Chen sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.75, for a total transaction of $171,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,130,990.75. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Amanpal Singh Bhutani sold 6,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.81, for a total value of $1,246,442.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 431,015 shares in the company, valued at $77,500,807.15. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,459 shares of company stock valued at $12,214,374. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on GoDaddy from $228.00 to $206.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on GoDaddy from $231.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut GoDaddy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on GoDaddy from $172.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on GoDaddy from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.86.

GoDaddy Company Profile

GoDaddy Inc engages in the design and development of cloud-based products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Applications and Commerce, and Core Platform. The Applications and Commerce segment provides applications products, including Websites + Marketing, a mobile-optimized online tool that enables customers to build websites and e-commerce enabled online stores; and Managed WordPress, a streamlined and optimized website building that allows customers to easily build and manage a faster WordPress site; Managed WooCommerce Stores to sell anything and anywhere online; and marketing tools and services, such as GoDaddy Studio mobile application, search engine optimization, Meta and Google My Business, and email and social media marketing designed to help businesses acquire and engage customers and create content.