Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 38,530 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 15.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 280,879 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,530 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $74,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 184.8% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,673 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 47.4% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 32,146 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $8,226,000 after purchasing an additional 10,331 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the second quarter valued at about $2,562,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the second quarter valued at about $166,203,000. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Expedia Group by 180.1% in the third quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 33,734 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $8,884,000 after buying an additional 21,689 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:EXPE traded down $3.08 on Friday, reaching $257.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,122,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,153,199. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $185.34 and a 1-year high of $342.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $30.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $276.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.14.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The online travel company reported $9.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.85 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 91.03% and a net margin of 12.98%. Expedia Group’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. 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 presently 11.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXPE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush lowered their price target on Expedia Group from $417.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $351.00 to $328.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $345.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $316.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expedia Group news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 2,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.65, for a total transaction of $909,456.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,885,741.90. This represents a 18.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $336,340.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 104,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,950,885. This trade represents a 0.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,814 shares of company stock worth $1,906,796. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Expedia Group Profile

Expedia Group, Inc. is an online travel company that connects travelers with lodging, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages and activities. Its consumer-facing brands include Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo, which specializes in vacation rentals. The company also provides travel technology and booking services to business partners. Founded in 1996 as a division of Microsoft, Expedia became an independent public company in 1999. It serves travelers and lodging partners in markets around the world through its websites and mobile apps.