State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 786 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,005 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 786 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $8,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted 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 purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 709.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $204.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.01. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $207.73. The company has a market capitalization of $26.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.82.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. 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 0.78%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 1,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $15,345,000. This trade represents a 2.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,951 shares of company stock worth $3,900,580. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on EXPE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius Research raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Melius raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.

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.