Marshall Wace LLP Takes $58.37 Million Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 313,246 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,367,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.24% of Expedia Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,460 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Expedia Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 82,626 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $12,230,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 16.3% in the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 216,685 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $32,074,000 after acquiring an additional 30,396 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 6.8% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,124 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter worth about $2,958,000. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

EXPE opened at $151.15 on Friday. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.91. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.25 and a 1 year high of $207.73. The company has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced 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 net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. Research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXPE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Nineteen investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.18.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

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.