IFP Advisors Inc Increases Stock Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,139 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 676.2% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 709.8% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth $72,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Argus increased their price target on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900 in the last 90 days. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Expedia Group Trading Up 2.3 %

Expedia Group stock opened at $197.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $187.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.74. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.25 and a 52 week high of $207.73. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. Equities research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is 17.68%.

Expedia Group 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.