Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,100 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,567,830 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $264,627,000 after purchasing an additional 32,191 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,557,816 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $160,564,000 after acquiring an additional 22,518 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 949,423 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $97,857,000 after acquiring an additional 18,471 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 7.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 769,665 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $79,329,000 after acquiring an additional 56,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 698,366 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $71,981,000 after acquiring an additional 17,727 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 5,119 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.21, for a total transaction of $702,377.99. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,492,844.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $1,500,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 216,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,486,810.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 5,119 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.21, for a total value of $702,377.99. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,492,844.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Expedia Group Trading Up 2.0 %

EXPE opened at $131.59 on Tuesday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $87.94 and a one year high of $160.05. The company has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.40.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The online travel company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 6.21%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America lowered Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Expedia Group from $159.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $155.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $181.00 price objective on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.12.

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.