DnB Asset Management AS Purchases 186 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,419 shares of the online travel company’s stock after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $4,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,520 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,980 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 489 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 raised its position in 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 valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America raised shares of Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE stock opened at $168.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. As a group, equities research 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 was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. 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 yield of 0.95%. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.