Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys New Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 94,469 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,602,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 33.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 10,191 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 2,569 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,791,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 13.1% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 649,716 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $96,171,000 after acquiring an additional 75,120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Trading Up 2.3 %

Expedia Group stock opened at $197.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $187.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.74. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $207.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Argus increased their price target on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.

Insider Activity

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, 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 have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

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.