Westpac Banking Corp Acquires 436 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 89.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 924 shares of the online travel company’s stock after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Expedia Group by 676.2% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on EXPE shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.43.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,028,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, 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 owned by company insiders.

Expedia Group Stock Down 6.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $141.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $207.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $180.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.78.

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

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 1.13%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.68%.

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.