Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 63.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,454 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 141,640 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $15,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,744 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $5,729,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,791,000. Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at $319,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Expedia Group by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 60,003 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $11,180,000 after buying an additional 9,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $238,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on EXPE shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $143.00 price objective on Expedia Group and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $163.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.43.

Expedia Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Expedia Group stock opened at $139.82 on Tuesday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.25 and a 1 year high of $207.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $180.02 and its 200-day moving average is $175.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.06 by ($0.22). Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. On average, equities analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.68%.

Insider Activity

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. The trade was a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Company 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.