Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Buys Shares of 16,772 Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Aware Super disclosed a new first-quarter position in Expedia Group, buying 16,772 shares worth about $3.87 million.
• Institutional ownership in Expedia remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding about 90.76% of the stock. Several large investors also recently increased their stakes, including Norges Bank, Wellington Management, and AQR Capital Management.
• Expedia reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.96 beating estimates and revenue of $3.43 billion topping forecasts. The company also paid a $0.48 quarterly dividend, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus "Hold" with an average target price of $288.82.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,772 shares of the online travel company's stock, valued at approximately $3,872,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EXPE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $861,979,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Expedia Group by 24,899.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,808,466 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $386,560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801,232 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 25.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,645,732 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $779,275,000 after acquiring an additional 728,063 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 594.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 583,830 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $165,405,000 after acquiring an additional 499,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,286,093 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $364,363,000 after acquiring an additional 456,176 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total value of $1,095,566.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 105,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,569,384. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,124,454.38. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EXPE. Robert W. Baird set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Expedia Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Expedia Group from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Expedia Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $288.82.

Expedia Group Trading Down 0.8%

Expedia Group stock opened at $268.77 on Friday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.05 and a 1 year high of $303.80. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $240.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $32.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.23.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 84.33%. Expedia Group's revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 16.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 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 16.90%.

Expedia Group 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.

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