KBC Group NV Raises Position in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 201.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 276,150 shares of the online travel company’s stock after buying an additional 184,507 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $63,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $408,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 5.0% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,455 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $596,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Expedia Group by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,265 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $3,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its stake in Expedia Group by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 11,042 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $244.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $288.52.

Expedia Group Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of EXPE opened at $265.08 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.05 and a 12-month high of $303.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $241.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.23.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.55. Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 84.33%. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Expedia Group’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 16.98 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

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

About Expedia Group

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.