KBC Group NV Boosts Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

KBC Group NV raised its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 201.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 276,150 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 184,507 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.23% of Expedia Group worth $63,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EXPE. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 1st quarter worth $53,254,000. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Expedia Group by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 343,391 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $79,286,000 after buying an additional 19,600 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $259,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Expedia Group by 1.2% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,589 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Expedia Group by 8.8% in the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 243,149 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $56,141,000 after buying an additional 19,567 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EXPE shares. Argus boosted their price target on Expedia Group from $270.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $334.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $288.52.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of EXPE opened at $265.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.23. Expedia Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.05 and a fifty-two week high of $303.80. The business’s 50-day moving average is $241.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during 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%.Expedia Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 16.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total value of $208,548.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,083 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,454.38. The trade was a 6.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was 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. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.