Clearbridge Investments LLC Boosts Stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 971,327 shares of the online travel company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,294 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $133,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Expedia Group by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 47,184 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $7,162,000 after purchasing an additional 8,595 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Expedia Group by 115.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 39,314 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $5,967,000 after purchasing an additional 21,095 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Expedia Group by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 263,351 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $39,974,000 after purchasing an additional 15,759 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in Expedia Group by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 16,338 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 7,270 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in Expedia Group by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 355,871 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $54,018,000 after purchasing an additional 43,820 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 6,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.71, for a total value of $757,636.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,676,600.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 6,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,676,600.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 544 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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. Company insiders own 8.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $158.00 to $138.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Expedia Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $175.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.24.

Expedia Group Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ EXPE traded down $1.79 on Tuesday, hitting $132.67. 1,523,660 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,426,478. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $122.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.81. 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 quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.93. The company has a market cap of $18.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 0.51 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) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.96) by $0.57. Expedia Group had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 41.63%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 9.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Expedia Group

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.