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 position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 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 about 1.1% of Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Expedia Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,520 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,980 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 489 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 25,499 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $4,751,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,149 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXPE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. HSBC upgraded Expedia Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Expedia Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE traded down $1.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $167.12. 767,003 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,944,444. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $182.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.61. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $107.25 and a 12-month high of $207.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83.

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

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.