Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes $6.74 Million Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 36,155 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,736,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Expedia Group by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,744 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $5,729,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,791,000. Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $319,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Expedia Group by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 60,003 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $11,180,000 after buying an additional 9,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on EXPE. Melius Research upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price target (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.43.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. The trade was a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $139.82 on Tuesday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $207.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $180.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is 17.68%.

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.