Westpac Banking Corp Sells 18,358 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 98.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 261 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 18,358 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,027 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,673 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 3,910 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 500 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 91.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 477 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Friday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.53, for a total transaction of $65,124.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,355,879.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Expedia Group news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.53, for a total value of $65,124.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,355,879.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.50, for a total value of $9,415,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 72,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,719,777. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,477 shares of company stock valued at $10,140,125 over the last three months. Company insiders own 8.07% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $134.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.39 and a 12 month high of $137.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.64. The stock has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.66.

Expedia Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the online travel company to purchase up to 30.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on EXPE. Mizuho raised their target price on Expedia Group from $110.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, July 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 14th. Evercore ISI raised Expedia Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, TheStreet lowered Expedia Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.33.

Expedia Group Profile

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Retail, B2B, and trivago segments. Its brand portfolio includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand with localized websites; Hotels.com for marketing and distributing lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz; Travelocity; Wotif Group; CheapTickets; ebookers; Expedia; Hotwire; CarRentals.com; Classic Vacations; and Expedia Cruise.