Man Group plc Buys New Stake in Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP)

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 30,765 shares of the travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in Tripadvisor during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tripadvisor by 204.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,298 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in shares of Tripadvisor by 83.8% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 3,414 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Tripadvisor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Tripadvisor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tripadvisor Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ TRIP opened at $13.69 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.50. Tripadvisor, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.43 and a fifty-two week high of $18.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 684.84, a P/E/G ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.85.

Tripadvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The travel company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.09. Tripadvisor had a net margin of 0.33% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $398.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $386.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Tripadvisor, Inc. will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TRIP. B. Riley dropped their price target on Tripadvisor from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Tripadvisor from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Tripadvisor in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Tripadvisor from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Tripadvisor from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.25.

Insider Activity at Tripadvisor

In related news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 16,643 shares of Tripadvisor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.33, for a total transaction of $255,137.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,222.23. This trade represents a 51.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Tripadvisor

TripAdvisor, Inc operates as an online travel company, primarily engages in the provision of travel guidance products and services worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Brand Tripadvisor, Viator, and TheFork. The Brand Tripadvisor segment offers travel guidance platforms for travelers to discover, generate, and share authentic user-generated content in the form of ratings and reviews for destinations, points-of-interest, experiences, accommodations, restaurants, and cruises.