River Road Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 77.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 41,221 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 139,113 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $7,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Expedia Group by 676.2% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 709.8% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Trading Down 7.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $163.75 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $186.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.45. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $107.25 and a 12-month high of $207.73. The company has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on EXPE. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. HSBC raised shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.64.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction 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. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.