Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 720 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,199 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 720 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $3,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its stake in Expedia Group by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 4,323,700 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $639,994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431,500 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,927 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $472,212,000 after purchasing an additional 20,005 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,689,485 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $250,078,000 after buying an additional 144,579 shares in the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,576,472 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $233,349,000 after buying an additional 498,934 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 732,645 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $136,514,000 after buying an additional 10,332 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $178.29 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $183.62 and its 200 day moving average is $173.33. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.25 and a 52 week high of $207.73. 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 company has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.68%.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group 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 $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EXPE shares. Melius upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Expedia Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.43.

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.