Korea Investment CORP Sells 26,700 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP reduced its stake in Expedia by 15.6%, selling 26,700 shares and retaining 144,741 shares (about 0.12% of EXPE) valued at roughly $30.94 million after the sale.
• Expedia beat recent quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.78 versus $3.32 consensus and revenue of $3.55B (up 11.4% YoY), and announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.48 ($1.92 annualized, ex-dividend Mar 5).

Korea Investment CORP cut its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 144,741 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 26,700 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.12% of Expedia Group worth $30,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth about $408,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $596,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Expedia Group by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 40,661 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $6,871,000 after buying an additional 2,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $464,000. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Expedia Group stock opened at $241.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $29.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.41. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.01 and a 1-year high of $303.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $252.02 and a 200-day moving average of $242.93.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The online travel company reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 72.23% and a net margin of 8.78%.Expedia Group's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Expedia Group's payout ratio is presently 19.49%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 8,225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $22,629,633.60. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXPE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $245.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $294.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $281.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $281.74.

Expedia Group 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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