Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $2.17 Million Stock Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 44.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,641 shares of the online travel company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $2,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Expedia Group stock opened at $178.29 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $22.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 52.41%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus raised their target price on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.43.

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.