Walter Public Investments Inc. Sells 19,457 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Walter Public Investments Inc. reduced its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,524 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 19,457 shares during the quarter. Expedia Group makes up 2.4% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $13,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXPE. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at $5,527,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 13,396 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,368 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 40,756 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $7,594,000 after acquiring an additional 20,844 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,139 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at $229,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE stock opened at $199.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $186.60 and a 200-day moving average of $167.80. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is 17.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. The trade was a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900 in the last ninety days. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXPE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Expedia Group in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.64.

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.