Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Purchases 3,126 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,323 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,126 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 0.06% of Expedia Group worth $14,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Expedia Group by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,744 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $5,729,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,791,000. Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Expedia Group by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 60,003 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $11,180,000 after acquiring an additional 9,086 shares during the period. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expedia Group news, 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 value of $1,028,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total transaction of $1,851,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,198,700.75. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE opened at $168.10 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.86. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were 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 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXPE has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Hsbc Global Res raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America upgraded Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nineteen investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.43.

About Expedia Group

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.