U S Global Investors Inc. Sells 37,796 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

U S Global Investors Inc. trimmed its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 114,649 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 37,796 shares during the period. Expedia Group comprises 2.1% of U S Global Investors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $21,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,520 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Expedia Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,980 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Expedia Group by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 489 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, GHE LLC increased its holdings in Expedia Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. GHE LLC now owns 6,689 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $980,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of Expedia Group stock opened at $193.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. 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 50 day simple moving average is $186.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.98.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share 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%. 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is 17.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 directly owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group 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 sale, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900 in the last three months. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $168.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Melius Research upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group currently has an average 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.