Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Shares Acquired by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 102,990 shares of the online travel company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,426 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $19,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 676.2% in the fourth 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. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at $51,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expedia Group news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group 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 transaction, the director now owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,912,563.95. The trade was a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

EXPE opened at $173.43 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.64. The firm has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Expedia Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.25 and a fifty-two week high of $207.73.

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 return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nineteen research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.43.

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.