Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 71,795 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,176,669 shares of the online travel company's stock after acquiring an additional 71,795 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.92% of Expedia Group worth $219,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $670,565,000. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 73.4% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 854,262 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $159,175,000 after purchasing an additional 361,543 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,367,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 245.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 366,414 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $68,274,000 after buying an additional 260,197 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 326.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 293,482 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $54,685,000 after buying an additional 224,732 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Expedia Group Price Performance

EXPE stock opened at $152.93 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $19.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $171.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.14. 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 announced 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, analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is a positive change from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group's payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXPE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC raised shares of Expedia Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer reduced 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 report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $205.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen research 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.18.

Expedia Group Company Profile

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.

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