Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Shares Sold by AdvisorShares Investments LLC

AdvisorShares Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 967 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,744 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $5,729,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,791,000. Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 60,003 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $11,180,000 after purchasing an additional 9,086 shares during the period. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $238,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % 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 Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $160.15 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.42. Expedia Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.25 and a fifty-two week high of $207.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65.

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 return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EXPE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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 given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.89.

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.