Patton Fund Management Inc. Trims Stake in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Patton Fund Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 63.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,935 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 18,788 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $2,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 78.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Expedia Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of EXPE opened at $263.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.25. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $166.22 and a 1 year high of $303.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.21.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 84.33%. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 16.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 105,448 shares in the company, valued at $24,569,384. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $252.00 to $246.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $240.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Expedia Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Sixteen 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $284.42.

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.