Kestra Investment Management LLC Buys New Shares in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,403 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 1,353.9% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 13,163 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 296.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 860 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 97,953 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $14,499,000 after acquiring an additional 34,581 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total transaction of $1,851,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,198,700.75. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $351,180.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,250 shares in the company, valued at $15,345,000. The trade was a 2.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,951 shares of company stock valued at $3,900,580. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $204.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $184.07 and a 200-day moving average of $164.01. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 55.42%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 10.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is 17.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EXPE shares. HSBC raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.64.

Expedia Group Company 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.