ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC Makes New $3.34 Million Investment in Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM)

ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new stake in Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 92,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,336,000. Trip.com Group comprises approximately 3.1% of ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Trip.com Group by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Trip.com Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Trip.com Group by 21.1% in the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 3,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Trip.com Group by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Trip.com Group in the fourth quarter worth $204,000. 35.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Trip.com Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Trip.com Group from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Trip.com Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Trip.com Group from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Trip.com Group from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Trip.com Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

Trip.com Group Stock Performance

Shares of TCOM stock traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.30. 4,988,915 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,335,831. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.23. Trip.com Group Limited has a 12-month low of $30.70 and a 12-month high of $53.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75 and a beta of 0.52.

Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Trip.com Group had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 22.43%. On average, analysts forecast that Trip.com Group Limited will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Trip.com Group Profile

Trip.com Group Limited operates as a travel service provider for accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and in-destination, corporate travel management, and other travel-related services in China and internationally. The company acts as an agent for hotel-related transactions and selling air tickets, as well as provides train, long-distance bus, and ferry tickets; travel insurance products, such as flight delay, air accident, and baggage loss coverage; and air-ticket delivery, online check-in and seat selection, express security screening, real-time flight status tracker, and airport VIP lounge services.