Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,253 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 472 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Expedia Group by 23.9% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,103 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Expedia Group by 11.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,606 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $6,114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,011 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its stake in Expedia Group by 6.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 261,481 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $38,704,000 after purchasing an additional 16,411 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 49,521 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $7,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the third quarter worth $234,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Expedia Group Stock Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $188.70 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $187.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.25 and a 52 week high of $207.73. The company has a market capitalization of $24.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.68%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $1,851,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at $31,198,700.75. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXPE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America raised Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price (up from $220.00) 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 issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.

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.