Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 2,726 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 58.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,351 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,726 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $1,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Expedia Group by 970.6% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 182 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,569,384. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.86, for a total transaction of $208,548.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,454.38. The trade was a 6.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $294.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $252.25 and a 200-day moving average of $243.89. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.05 and a 1-year high of $312.40.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The online travel company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.55. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 84.33% and a net margin of 9.81%.The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. Expedia Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EXPE shares. B. Riley Financial decreased their price objective on Expedia Group from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Expedia Group from $260.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Monday, July 20th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Expedia Group from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Expedia Group from $244.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. 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, Expedia Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.76.

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.