Maridea Wealth Management LLC Takes $346,000 Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,856 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EXPE. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Expedia Group by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,744 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $5,729,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,791,000. Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $319,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position 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 valued at $11,180,000 after acquiring an additional 9,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXPE. HSBC raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Trading Down 0.6 %

EXPE opened at $168.10 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.15. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $207.73. The company has a market cap 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

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 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%. Analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend 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.