HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,057 shares of the online travel company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,890 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Expedia Group worth $18,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 114.3% in the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 150 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in Expedia Group by 212.7% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 172 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 43.2% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 189 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Madhumita Moina Banerjee sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.00, for a total value of $258,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $752,328. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXPE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $245.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Benchmark cut their price objective on Expedia Group from $310.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Expedia Group in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Expedia Group from $180.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $284.35.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $199.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $268.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.41. Expedia Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.01 and a fifty-two week high of $303.80.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The online travel company reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during 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%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. 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 16.24%.

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.