SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,464 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Expedia Group by 676.2% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Expedia Group by 709.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE opened at $190.99 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $187.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

Insider Activity

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 approximately $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on EXPE. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.64.

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.