Cannell & Spears LLC Makes New $6.50 Million Investment in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Cannell & Spears LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 34,862 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,496,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Expedia Group by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,744 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $5,729,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,791,000. Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 60,003 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $11,180,000 after acquiring an additional 9,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $238,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on EXPE shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Melius Research raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $168.10 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.25 and a 1 year high of $207.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. Analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.