Ieq Capital LLC Buys 23,609 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 338.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,584 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,609 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $5,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Expedia Group by 676.2% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Expedia Group by 709.8% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Expedia Group from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Melius Research raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $196.91 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.21. The company has a market capitalization of $25.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. 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 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

About Expedia Group

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.