Bailard Inc. Purchases 1,050 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Bailard Inc. boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,207 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $7,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Expedia Group by 7.5% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,030 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 45.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,620 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 23.9% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,103 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 11.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,606 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $6,114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,011 shares during the period. Finally, Fernwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the third quarter valued at about $207,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Expedia Group Trading Up 2.3 %

EXPE opened at $197.96 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $187.15 and its 200-day moving average is $168.74. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year 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 has a market cap of $25.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EXPE. 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price target (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.

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.