Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co cut its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 100,885 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 3,359 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.08% of Expedia Group worth $18,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,744 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $5,729,000 after buying an additional 4,656 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,791,000. Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $319,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 60,003 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $11,180,000 after buying an additional 9,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $238,000. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE traded up $3.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $156.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,493,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,013,173. The stock has a market cap of $20.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $170.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $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. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. This is a positive change from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio is 17.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EXPE. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson 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 Friday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $190.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

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.