Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,531 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 10,174 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Expedia Group were worth $9,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EXPE. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in Expedia Group by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 4,323,700 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $639,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431,500 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 22.5% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,250,710 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $481,170,000 after buying an additional 596,510 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,927 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $472,212,000 after buying an additional 20,005 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Expedia Group by 9.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,689,485 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $250,078,000 after acquiring an additional 144,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Expedia Group by 46.3% during the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,576,472 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $233,349,000 after acquiring an additional 498,934 shares in the last quarter. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In other news, 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 value of $1,697,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 158,505 shares in the company, valued at $26,912,563.95. This trade represents a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on EXPE shares. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Expedia Group from $166.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Expedia Group from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.64.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXPE traded up $2.92 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $199.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 916,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,027,253. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. Expedia Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $107.25 and a twelve month high of $207.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $185.40 and a 200 day moving average of $166.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.