Beck Bode LLC Makes New $554,000 Investment in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Beck Bode LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,971 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $670,565,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,976,472 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $368,276,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 854,262 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $159,175,000 after purchasing an additional 361,543 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $58,367,000. Finally, Natixis raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 9,987.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 302,614 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $56,386,000 after purchasing an additional 299,614 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EXPE shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Melius upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE opened at $161.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $207.73. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $164.71 and a 200 day moving average of $175.59.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

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.