Mariner LLC Increases Stock Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 821.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 251,940 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 224,593 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $46,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. bought a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 676.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 75.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE stock opened at $151.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $176.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.04. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $107.25 and a 12-month high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly 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 52.41%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EXPE shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on 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, Hsbc Global Res raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.43.

Expedia Group Company 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.