Boston Partners Sells 979,791 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Boston Partners lowered its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 80.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 238,043 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 979,791 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Expedia Group were worth $44,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 4,323,700 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $639,994,000 after buying an additional 1,431,500 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,250,710 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $481,170,000 after buying an additional 596,510 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,927 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $472,212,000 after buying an additional 20,005 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,689,485 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $250,078,000 after buying an additional 144,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Expedia Group by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,576,472 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $233,349,000 after buying an additional 498,934 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Trading Up 4.4 %

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $172.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $207.73. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $184.00 and its 200-day moving average is $172.26.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its 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 return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. Equities research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current 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 boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EXPE shares. Melius upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Susquehanna increased their target price 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.43.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. Company 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.