Bridgewater Associates LP Buys 361,543 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 73.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 854,262 shares of the online travel company's stock after buying an additional 361,543 shares during the period. Expedia Group makes up about 0.7% of Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.67% of Expedia Group worth $159,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 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 stake in shares of Expedia Group by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EXPE shares. 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. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Expedia Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Expedia Group from $163.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $190.18.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $151.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,152,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,009,348. The firm has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $207.73. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $174.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.91.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. On average, research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 a boost from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group's payout ratio is 17.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by insiders.

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.