GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 2,082 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,517 shares of the online travel company’s stock after buying an additional 2,082 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $3,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 676.2% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 709.8% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Expedia Group in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Expedia Group by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 489 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $172.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $182.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.83. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $192.34. The stock has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 49.25% and a net margin of 7.97%. Equities analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EXPE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $153.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $351,180.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,345,000. This represents a 2.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total value of $1,273,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,035,922.13. The trade was a 38.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,951 shares of company stock valued at $5,174,510 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

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.