Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 20,665 shares and bringing its holdings to 112,025 shares worth about $31.7 million.
• Expedia reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with earnings per share of $1.96 and revenue of $3.43 billion, both above analyst forecasts. Revenue rose 14.7% year over year.
• Despite the strong earnings, the stock was trading down 5.2% at $218.94, while analysts maintained a cautious outlook overall with a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $284.42.

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,025 shares of the online travel company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,665 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.09% of Expedia Group worth $31,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 103.8% in the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 161 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 970.6% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 182 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EXPE. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $260.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Expedia Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $284.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total transaction of $208,548.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,083 shares in the company, 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 corporate insiders.

Expedia Group Trading Down 5.2%

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $218.94 on Thursday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.00 and a 12 month high of $303.80. 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 company has a market capitalization of $26.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.25. The company's fifty day moving average price is $234.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.51.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 84.33%. The firm's revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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