Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $37.81 Million Stock Position in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,779 shares of the online travel company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,427 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Expedia Group worth $37,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in EXPE. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 970.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 182 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Argus boosted their price target on Expedia Group from $270.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Gordon Haskett cut their price objective on Expedia Group from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $290.00 target price on Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $288.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 940 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was 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 directly owned 14,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,454.38. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 4,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.00, for a total value of $1,095,566.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 105,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,569,384. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $268.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.23. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.78. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.05 and a 52 week high of $303.80.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released 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 firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 84.33%. The business’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. On average, sell-side 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. 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%.

Expedia Group 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.