Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,681 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $3,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Expedia Group Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of EXPE opened at $197.96 on Friday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $107.25 and a 1-year high of $207.73. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $187.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, 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 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. 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 presently 17.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna increased 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.