First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 104.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,191,528 shares of the online travel company’s stock after purchasing an additional 607,698 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $275,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on EXPE. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $266.00 to $262.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Monday, May 18th. Gordon Haskett cut their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $290.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $288.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total transaction of $1,095,566.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,448 shares in the company, valued at $24,569,384. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total value of $208,548.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,454.38. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $261.08 on Thursday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.05 and a fifty-two week high of $303.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $242.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.23.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.55. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 84.33% and a net margin of 9.81%.The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 16.98 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is presently 16.90%.

Expedia Group Company Profile

Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE) is a global travel technology company that operates an online marketplace connecting consumers, travel suppliers and third?party partners. The company’s platform enables search, comparison and booking of travel products and services, including hotels, airline tickets, vacation rentals, car rentals, cruises and packaged travel. Its portfolio comprises consumer-facing travel brands as well as corporate travel solutions and technology services that serve both leisure and business travelers.

Key offerings include consumer booking platforms and mobile apps that aggregate inventory from hotels, vacation rental managers, airlines and car rental companies, alongside ancillary travel services such as trip insurance and activities.