Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $2.17 Million Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 44.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,641 shares of the online travel company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $2,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised 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 purchasing an additional 4,656 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,791,000. Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 9,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New acquired a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $238,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Baird R W upgraded Expedia Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus increased their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.43.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $178.29 on Tuesday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.25 and a 52 week high of $207.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $183.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.33.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued 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%. Analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900 in the last three months. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.