Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Stake Boosted by Lyrical Asset Management LP

Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,763,489 shares of the online travel company’s stock after buying an additional 28,736 shares during the period. Expedia Group accounts for 4.9% of Lyrical Asset Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Lyrical Asset Management LP’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $328,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at $243,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 183,513 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $34,194,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,523,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $6,736,000. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXPE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on Expedia Group from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Expedia Group Price Performance

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $141.86 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $180.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.03. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.