Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Shares Sold by National Pension Service

National Pension Service reduced its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 236,890 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 24,591 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $44,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 709.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Expedia Group Stock Down 3.0 %

EXPE opened at $193.55 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. The firm has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.25 and a 52 week high of $207.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.98.

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 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, equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.68%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EXPE. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Expedia Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.64.

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.