Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. cut its Expedia Group stake by 51.4% in the first quarter, selling 55,214 shares and leaving it with 52,230 shares worth about $12.1 million.
• Expedia reported strong quarterly results, posting $1.96 EPS versus the $1.41 consensus and revenue of $3.43 billion, up 14.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has 16 Buy ratings and 23 Hold ratings, with a consensus price target of $286.27, while shares recently traded around $270.83.

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 51.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,230 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 55,214 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $12,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXPE. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $408,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the second quarter valued at $596,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 6.5% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,265 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $3,587,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 615 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXPE has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Expedia Group from $244.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Expedia Group from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $270.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $286.27.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Expedia Group stock opened at $270.83 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $33.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.17. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.05 and a 12-month high of $303.80. 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 (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.55. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 84.33% and a net margin of 9.81%.The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Expedia Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 16.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were issued a $0.48 dividend. 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 is presently 16.90%.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other 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 sale, the insider owned 105,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,569,384. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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