Allianz SE Makes New Investment in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Allianz SE purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,348 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $997,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $687,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $346,000. DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 22,419 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $4,177,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Alerus Financial NA bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $203,000. Finally, denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $401,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total transaction of $1,851,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900 over the last 90 days. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EXPE shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.43.

Expedia Group Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $168.10 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $21.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.25 and a fifty-two week high of $207.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. On average, analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

Expedia Group Profile

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.