Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Lowers Stock Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina cut its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 67,133 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 2,353 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $12,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 676.2% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Expedia Group by 75.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Expedia Group Stock Up 0.7 %

EXPE opened at $150.53 on Friday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $177.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.02. 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 capitalization of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus increased their target price on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $205.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.43.

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.