Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,875 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 2,265 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 10,191 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,569 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,791,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 16.9% during the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,823 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $4,562,000 after buying an additional 4,449 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 649,716 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $96,171,000 after acquiring an additional 75,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at $527,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Expedia Group Stock Up 17.3 %

Shares of EXPE opened at $202.37 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. The firm has a market cap of $25.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $182.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.92. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $205.12.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 49.25% and a net margin of 7.97%. Analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. 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.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $351,180.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,951 shares of company stock valued at $5,174,510 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EXPE. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday. HSBC upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Melius Research raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $187.93.

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.