Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 21,556 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Daiwa Securities Group Inc. more than doubled its Expedia stake in the fourth quarter, buying 21,556 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 43,067 shares worth about $12.2 million.
• Expedia recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.96 versus the $1.41 consensus and revenue of $3.43 billion, up 14.7% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $284.42.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 100.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,067 shares of the online travel company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,556 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $12,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $408,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,455 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $596,000. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 5.9% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 11,042 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 101.1% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 122,177 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $20,609,000 after acquiring an additional 61,435 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citic Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $337.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Expedia Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $365.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $284.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,124,454.38. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Expedia Group Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $228.88 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $234.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.76. The company has a market cap of $28.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.25. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.00 and a 52-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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.55. The firm 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%. The business's revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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