South Dakota Investment Council Sells 10,174 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,531 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 10,174 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $9,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 296.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 860 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 54.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 97,953 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $14,499,000 after buying an additional 34,581 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the third quarter worth $226,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 23.9% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,403 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group during the third quarter worth $9,181,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now 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. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.64.

Expedia Group Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $196.91 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.13. The firm has a market cap of $25.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.25 and a 1 year high of $207.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. Analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.68%.

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.