RNC Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

RNC Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,734 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 659 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $5,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EXPE. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings 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 period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 709.8% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 489 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EXPE shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Expedia Group from $137.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Melius Research raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Expedia Group from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Expedia Group from $172.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.75.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $172.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.82. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.25 and a 52 week high of $192.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $182.31 and a 200 day moving average of $159.83.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 49.25% and a net margin of 7.97%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 85,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,345,000. This represents a 2.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lance A. Soliday sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.99, for a total value of $1,273,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,035,922.13. The trade was a 38.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,951 shares of company stock valued at $5,174,510. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group 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.