Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $1.60 Million Stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,566 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Expedia Group were worth $1,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $196.91 on Monday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.25 and a 1 year high of $207.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $185.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.51. The company has a market capitalization of $25.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on EXPE shares. Melius raised Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W raised Expedia Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.64.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction 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 $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group 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.