D.A. Davidson & CO. Trims Stock Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,189 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $2,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 33.7% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 10,191 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after buying an additional 2,569 shares during the period. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,791,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 16.9% during the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,823 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $4,562,000 after buying an additional 4,449 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 13.1% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 649,716 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $96,171,000 after buying an additional 75,120 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $527,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Expedia Group stock opened at $196.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $107.25 and a 12-month high of $207.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $185.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.21.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share 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, research analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on EXPE shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Melius raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. The trade was a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900 in the last ninety days. Company 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.