AlphaQuest LLC Sells 166 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,489 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Argentarii LLC purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $274,000. Kendall Capital Management increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 10,550 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after buying an additional 2,585 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Expedia Group by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 433,534 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $79,172,000 after buying an additional 57,621 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,225,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at $257,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expedia Group news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Trading Up 3.2 %

EXPE stock opened at $162.11 on Friday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.25 and a 52-week high of $207.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.67.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

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.