Bailard Inc. Has $7.49 Million Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

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

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Expedia Group by 676.2% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Expedia Group by 709.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900 over the last quarter. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXPE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.

Expedia Group Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $197.96 on Friday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.25 and a 52 week high of $207.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $25.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $187.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.74.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is 17.68%.

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.