AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 102.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,917,669 shares of the online travel company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,473,386 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $492,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,304,305 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $2,581,530,000 after acquiring an additional 102,494 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $663,882,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Expedia Group by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,414,935 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $574,364,000 after purchasing an additional 58,244 shares during the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,375,276 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $399,284,000 after purchasing an additional 398,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,331,482 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $223,822,000 after purchasing an additional 55,575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $274.21 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $239.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.01 and a 12-month high of $282.96. The company has a market cap of $33.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.44.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The online travel company reported $7.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.10 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 64.15% and a net margin of 9.66%.The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.13 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other news, Director Craig A. Jacobson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.55, for a total value of $814,650.00. Following the sale, the director owned 30,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,379,489.90. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Madhumita Moina Banerjee sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.00, for a total value of $258,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,916 shares in the company, valued at $752,328. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,849 shares of company stock worth $1,283,270 in the last 90 days. 9.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EXPE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Expedia Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. KeyCorp started coverage on Expedia Group in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $197.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and twenty-five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.78.

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.