Ascent Group LLC Increases Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,008 shares of the online travel company’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $277,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ValueAct Holdings L.P. acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $645,346,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $334,632,000. Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its stake in Expedia Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,796,068 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $272,625,000 after purchasing an additional 13,792 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,439,626 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $218,521,000 after buying an additional 59,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 971,327 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $133,800,000 after buying an additional 29,294 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE traded up $2.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $128.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,321,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,408,100. The company has a market cap of $17.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.78. Expedia Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.48 and a fifty-two week high of $160.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $123.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.12.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The online travel company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.96) by $0.57. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 6.18%. On average, analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research reduced their target price on Expedia Group from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down from $152.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. HSBC decreased their target price on Expedia Group from $166.00 to $132.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 6,722 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.71, for a total transaction of $757,636.62. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,620 shares in the company, valued at $3,676,600.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Expedia Group news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 6,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.71, for a total value of $757,636.62. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,676,600.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 544 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.38, for a total transaction of $61,678.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,268,382.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.07% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Profile

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.