Optas LLC Makes New Investment in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Optas LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,774 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EXPE. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 150 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 212.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 60.0% during the second quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 240 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on EXPE. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Expedia Group from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $220.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and twenty-four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $270.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Madhumita Moina Banerjee sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 2,916 shares in the company, valued at $752,328. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 849 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.08, for a total transaction of $210,619.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 11,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,893,108.96. This represents a 6.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,849 shares of company stock worth $1,283,270. 9.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $286.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $35.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.44. Expedia Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.01 and a twelve month high of $292.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $250.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.78.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The online travel company reported $7.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.10 by $0.47. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 64.15% and a net margin of 9.66%.The business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.31%.

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.