Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Position Lifted by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,744 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,656 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $5,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 33.7% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 10,191 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,569 shares during the period. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,791,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 16.9% during the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,823 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $4,562,000 after purchasing an additional 4,449 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 13.1% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 649,716 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $96,171,000 after purchasing an additional 75,120 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter worth $527,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on EXPE shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Melius raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Nineteen investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.

Expedia Group Stock Down 4.0 %

Expedia Group stock opened at $196.91 on Monday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.25 and a 52 week high of $207.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $185.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.51. The stock has a market cap of $25.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.