Patton Fund Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Patton Fund Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 2,061.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,723 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,348 shares during the quarter. Expedia Group makes up 1.1% of Patton Fund Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $8,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 6,198 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,756,000 after buying an additional 2,377 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,696 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,331,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. Burney Co. purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $11,986,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 10,025 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $2,857,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $365.00 to $387.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $256.00 to $253.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 8,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.82, for a total value of $1,816,244.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 102,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,629,633.60. This trade represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Expedia Group Trading Up 5.3%

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $240.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $144.20 and a one year high of $303.80. The firm has a market cap of $29.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.33.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The online travel company reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 72.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is 19.49%.

Expedia Group 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.