AlphaQuest LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,489 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 709.8% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at $72,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on EXPE. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Baird R W raised shares of Expedia Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.61.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total value of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Expedia Group Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $162.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $184.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.67.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

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.