Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Stock Holdings Increased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 245.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 366,414 shares of the online travel company's stock after buying an additional 260,197 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.29% of Expedia Group worth $68,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 216,685 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $32,074,000 after purchasing an additional 30,396 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the third quarter valued at about $2,958,000. Optimist Retirement Group LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,930,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 299.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 559 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EXPE shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on Expedia Group from $163.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Expedia Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $205.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Nineteen equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.18.

Insider Transactions at Expedia Group

In other news, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,697,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. The trade was a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company's 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Expedia Group Price Performance

Expedia Group stock traded up $3.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $159.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,365,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,011,534. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $169.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.07. The company has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last released 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%. Analysts anticipate that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 1.00%. This is a boost from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group's payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

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.