KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 53,142 Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 53,142 shares of the online travel company's stock, valued at approximately $9,902,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,520 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,980 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Expedia Group by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 489 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 25,499 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $4,751,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Expedia Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,149 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company's stock.

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Expedia Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of EXPE stock traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $168.10. 1,807,176 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,947,934. The stock has a market cap of $21.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.25 and a fifty-two week high of $207.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.86.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. This is an increase from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group's payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total value of $1,028,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 168,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,198,700.75. This represents a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900. Insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised Expedia Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Expedia Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Nineteen equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.43.

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.