Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,368 shares of the online travel company’s stock after buying an additional 1,818 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 676.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 709.8% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXPE. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total transaction of $1,851,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at $31,198,700.75. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Up 1.2 %

EXPE opened at $190.99 on Thursday. 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 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $207.73. The company has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.00.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.68%.

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.