Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE Stock: AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Lowers Position

Key Points

• AEGON Asset Management UK cut its Expedia stake by 52.5% in the third quarter, selling 40,717 shares and ending the period with 36,876 shares valued at about $9.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: 15 analysts rate the stock Buy, 19 Hold and two Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $316.45.
• Expedia reported quarterly earnings of $9.39 per share, beating estimates of $8.85, while revenue of $4.94 billion exceeded expectations and rose 11.9% year over year.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc reduced its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 52.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,876 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 40,717 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Expedia Group were worth $9,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&G PLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the third quarter worth about $13,554,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 138.9% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 3,209 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its position in Expedia Group by 2,496.0% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 1,298 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 12.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,152 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $12,385,000 after acquiring an additional 5,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,183 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $6,105,000 after acquiring an additional 6,001 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Thursday, November 5th. TD Cowen raised Expedia Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Expedia Group from $351.00 to $328.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Melius Research set a $355.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $316.45.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $259.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $280.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.41. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $185.34 and a 52 week high of $342.00.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The online travel company reported $9.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.85 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 97.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.21%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 3,133 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.52, for a total value of $1,029,253.16. Following the sale, the director owned 29,832 shares in the company, valued at $9,800,408.64. The trade was a 9.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.50, for a total transaction of $661,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,813,217.50. This trade represents a 1.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,947 shares of company stock valued at $2,936,050. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc is an online travel company that connects travelers with lodging, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages and activities. Its consumer-facing brands include Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo, which specializes in vacation rentals. The company also provides travel technology and booking services to business partners.

Founded in 1996 as a division of Microsoft, Expedia became an independent public company in 1999. It serves travelers and lodging partners in markets around the world through its websites and mobile apps.

Expedia Group is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

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