HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 7,285 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC cut its Expedia Group stake by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,285 shares and ending with 79,772 shares valued at about $22.6 million.
• Expedia reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.96 versus the $1.41 consensus and revenue of $3.43 billion, up 14.7% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, while analysts currently have a mixed view with a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $284.42.

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,772 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 7,285 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Expedia Group worth $22,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $408,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,455 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $596,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,265 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $3,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 8,225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.82, for a total transaction of $1,816,244.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 102,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,629,633.60. The trade was a 7.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $214.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.19. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.18 and a 12 month high of $303.80.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 84.33%. Expedia Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 16.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. Expedia Group's payout ratio is 16.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EXPE. Citic Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $337.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $310.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $244.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $365.00 to $387.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $284.42.

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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