MRP Capital Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

MRP Capital Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,040 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Expedia Group by 676.2% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total transaction of $1,851,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $173.09 on Friday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $107.25 and a twelve month high of $207.73. The firm has a market cap of $22.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $183.81 and a 200 day moving average of $172.27. 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 (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its 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 net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. As a group, research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXPE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Expedia Group in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. HSBC upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.