Cypress Capital Group Decreases Stock Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Cypress Capital Group lowered its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 23.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,894 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 1,481 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 709.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on EXPE shares. Bank of America raised 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 note on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Baird R W raised Expedia Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Nineteen investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.64.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

EXPE stock opened at $190.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $107.25 and a 12-month high of $207.73. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.00.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is 17.68%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total value of $1,028,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. This represents a 5.60 % 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 valued at $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.