Ascent Group LLC Acquires 144 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,008 shares of the online travel company’s stock after purchasing 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 Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ValueAct Holdings L.P. bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $645,346,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $334,632,000. Lyrical Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 13,792 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 4.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 59,530 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 971,327 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $133,800,000 after acquiring an additional 29,294 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXPE traded up $2.41 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $128.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,321,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,408,100. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $92.48 and a one year high of $160.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.78.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expedia Group news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 6,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,676,600.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Expedia Group 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 transaction, the director now owns 32,620 shares in the company, valued at $3,676,600.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 544 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.38, for a total transaction of $61,678.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,268,382.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXPE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.24.

Expedia Group Company 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.