Katamaran Capital LLP Acquires Shares of 13,543 Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Katamaran Capital LLP acquired a new position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,543 shares of the online travel company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,523,000. Expedia Group accounts for about 3.2% of Katamaran Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 676.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on EXPE. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America raised Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $187.00 to $221.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expedia Group news, 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 value of $1,028,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Expedia Group stock opened at $141.86 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $207.73. The firm has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $180.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.78.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. 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.