Saudi Central Bank Acquires 3,872 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Saudi Central Bank lifted its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 89.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,191 shares of the online travel company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $2,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 5,270 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,225 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Expedia Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,389 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expedia Group news, Director Craig Jacobson sold 3,133 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.52, for a total transaction of $1,029,253.16. Following the sale, the director owned 29,832 shares in the company, valued at $9,800,408.64. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Lance Soliday sold 2,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.65, for a total value of $909,456.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,006 shares in the company, valued at $3,885,741.90. This represents a 18.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 11,950 shares of company stock worth $3,881,995 in the last quarter. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $298.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $295.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $185.34 and a 52 week high of $342.00.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The online travel company reported $5.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.22 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.17 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 87.32% and a net margin of 12.97%.The company’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 27th. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is presently 11.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on EXPE. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Expedia Group from $303.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Expedia Group from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore set a $430.00 price objective on Expedia Group in a report on Monday, August 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $370.00 target price on Expedia Group in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on Expedia Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Expedia Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $318.71.

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.