Smithfield Trust Co Buys 341 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,172 shares of the online travel company’s stock after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRH Advisors LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 676.2% during 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 position in shares of Expedia Group by 709.8% during 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 stake in shares of Expedia Group during the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth $72,000. 90.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $190.99 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $187.25 and a 200-day moving average of $170.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 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

EXPE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.