Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.76 Billion Stock Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,807,664 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 328,065 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Expedia Group worth $2,759,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 49.5% during the third 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 boosted its stake in Expedia Group by 0.6% during the 3rd 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 boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 144,579 shares during the period. Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $233,349,000 after buying an additional 498,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Trading Down 0.8 %

EXPE opened at $176.86 on Wednesday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $207.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $183.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.64.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share 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 52.41%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is 17.68%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total transaction of $1,851,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,198,700.75. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EXPE shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.