Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,596 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 709.8% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 299.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 559 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter worth about $118,000. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $351,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 85,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,345,000. This represents a 2.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total transaction of $1,851,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,951 shares of company stock valued at $5,045,310. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on EXPE shares. Baird R W raised Expedia Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Melius Research upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.96.

Expedia Group Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $176.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $192.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $184.57 and a 200-day moving average of $157.11. The stock has a market cap of $22.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.83.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The online travel company reported $5.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.42 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 49.25% and a net margin of 7.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group 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.