Panagora Asset Management Inc. Purchases 207,562 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management increased its Expedia stake by 150.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 207,562 additional shares to bring its total holdings to 345,449 shares valued at about $97.9 million.
• Expedia continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with 90.76% of shares owned by institutions and several firms, including Norges Bank and Wellington Management, making large moves in the stock.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.96 EPS on $3.43 billion in revenue, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with an average price target of $284.42.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 150.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 345,449 shares of the online travel company's stock after purchasing an additional 207,562 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.28% of Expedia Group worth $97,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $861,979,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Expedia Group by 24,899.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,808,466 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $386,560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801,232 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,645,732 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $779,275,000 after acquiring an additional 728,063 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 594.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 583,830 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $165,405,000 after acquiring an additional 499,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Expedia Group by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,286,093 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $364,363,000 after acquiring an additional 456,176 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EXPE shares. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on Expedia Group from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Expedia Group from $244.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $266.00 to $262.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $284.42.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Expedia Group stock opened at $224.89 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $233.97 and its 200 day moving average is $247.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $27.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.25. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $160.00 and a one year high of $303.80.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 84.33% and a net margin of 9.81%.The firm's revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.07 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total value of $1,095,566.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 105,448 shares in the company, valued at $24,569,384. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total transaction 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

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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