Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Stake Reduced by DDD Partners LLC

DDD Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 87,749 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 4,302 shares during the quarter. Expedia Group makes up about 2.0% of DDD Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. DDD Partners LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $16,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in 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 last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,912,563.95. The trade was a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $351,180.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 85,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,345,000. This trade represents a 2.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,951 shares of company stock valued at $3,900,580 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on EXPE. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Melius upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Nineteen 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.64.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

EXPE stock opened at $202.38 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.19. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.25 and a 52 week high of $207.73. The stock has a market cap of $25.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (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 55.42%. Research analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is 17.68%.

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.