Royal Bank of Canada Sells 8,757,697 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its Expedia Group stake by 91.7%, selling 8.76 million shares in the first quarter and retaining 791,878 shares worth approximately $182.8 million. Institutional investors still own 90.76% of Expedia’s outstanding stock.
• Expedia reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.96 versus the $1.41 consensus estimate and revenue of $3.43 billion, up 14.7% year over year.
• EXPE recently traded near $304, close to its 52-week high, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $288.64. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, for a 0.6% annualized yield.

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 91.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 791,878 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 8,757,697 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.65% of Expedia Group worth $182,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Expedia Group by 970.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 182 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $304.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.23. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.05 and a 1-year high of $312.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.55. 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 (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Expedia Group's payout ratio is currently 16.90%.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,124,454.38. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total transaction of $1,095,566.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 105,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,569,384. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $290.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $260.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citic Securities lowered their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $337.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $288.64.

About Expedia Group

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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