Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Invests $7.40 Million in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 39,700 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,397,000. Expedia Group makes up about 1.1% of Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in Expedia Group by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 102,990 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $19,190,000 after buying an additional 21,426 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $321,000. Heron Bay Capital Management lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 2,009 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $9,902,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EXPE shares. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nineteen equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.43.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $178.29 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $183.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. The trade was a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

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.