Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Grows Stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 59.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,152 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,836 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $9,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake 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 buying an additional 4,656 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Expedia Group by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 10,191 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 2,569 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,791,000. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $527,000. Finally, Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $319,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXPE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Expedia Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.61.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Expedia Group stock opened at $162.11 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average of $184.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.46. The company has a market capitalization of $20.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. Expedia Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.25 and a fifty-two week high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Expedia Group Company 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.