Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Invests $7.40 Million in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd purchased a new stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 39,700 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,397,000. Expedia Group accounts for approximately 1.1% of Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter worth approximately $245,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 9,802 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,855 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 57,409 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $8,498,000 after acquiring an additional 23,118 shares during the period. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter worth $383,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXPE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Expedia Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $178.29 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $183.62 and its 200 day moving average is $173.33. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $207.73. The firm has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is 17.68%.

Expedia Group Company 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.