Prospector Partners LLC Has $14.51 Million Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Prospector Partners LLC raised its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,879 shares of the online travel company’s stock after buying an additional 186 shares during the quarter. Expedia Group accounts for 1.6% of Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Prospector Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Expedia Group worth $14,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Expedia Group by 676.2% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 75.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EXPE. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Expedia Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.43.

Expedia Group Stock Down 6.9 %

EXPE stock opened at $141.86 on Friday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $207.73. The stock has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.03. 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 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 return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. Analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is 17.68%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

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

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.