Certuity LLC Invests $342,000 in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Certuity LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,834 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Cigna Investments Inc. New acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $688,000. Bristlecone Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $298,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 269.7% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,596 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 4,812 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXPE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Expedia Group from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. HSBC raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (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, twelve have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $351,180.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,345,000. The trade was a 2.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,951 shares of company stock worth $3,900,580 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $202.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.87. 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 2.03, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (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 55.42%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th.

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.