Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE Shares Sold by Walter Public Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Walter Public Investments cut its Expedia Group stake by 58.6% in the fourth quarter, though institutional investors still own a large majority of the company at 90.76%.
• Expedia reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.96 versus the $1.41 estimate and revenue of $3.43 billion, up 14.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold, with an average target price of $284.42, while Expedia also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share.

Walter Public Investments Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 58.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,005 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 26,955 shares during the period. Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $5,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AdvisorShares Investments LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 304.5% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 2,403 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 1,809 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $861,979,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,181,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $983,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Expedia Group news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 8,225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.82, for a total transaction of $1,816,244.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 102,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,629,633.60. The trade was a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXPE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $252.00 to $246.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $256.00 to $253.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $284.42.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $225.79 on Friday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.00 and a twelve 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $235.30 and a 200-day moving average of $249.18. The firm has a market cap of $27.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.30.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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