Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Cuts Stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 336,957 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 5,723 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $51,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at $494,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at $1,229,000. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 335.6% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at $293,000. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 9,720 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $181.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Ascendiant Capital Markets increased their target price on Expedia Group from $133.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. Benchmark increased their target price on Expedia Group from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Monday, February 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.12.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $129.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.94 and a 12-month high of $160.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $134.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.86.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.