Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Purchases Shares of 249,290 Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 249,290 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,340,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ValueAct Holdings L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $645,346,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $334,632,000. Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,796,068 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $272,625,000 after purchasing an additional 13,792 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,439,626 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $218,521,000 after purchasing an additional 59,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 767,709 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $116,541,000 after purchasing an additional 151,993 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of EXPE stock traded up $2.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $135.88. 1,412,336 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,843,570. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.07. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.48 and a 1-year high of $160.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.78.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The online travel company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 9.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on EXPE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Expedia Group from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Monday, April 29th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Expedia Group from $158.00 to $138.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 544 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,268,382.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 6,722 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 32,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,676,600.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 544 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.38, for a total value of $61,678.72. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,268,382.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.07% of the company’s stock.

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.