Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Position Reduced by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas reduced its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 83.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,371 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 6,810 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Expedia Group were worth $255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted 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 purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE opened at $139.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s fifty day moving average is $180.02 and its 200-day moving average is $175.26. 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 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its earnings results 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 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. Equities 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.68%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $163.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Melius Research raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, HSBC raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.43.

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.