Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Trims Stock Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. decreased its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,800 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 12,700 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.07% of Expedia Group worth $16,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Expedia Group by 676.2% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 163 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Expedia Group by 75.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. 90.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Expedia Group Stock Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ EXPE traded up $3.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $161.37. 1,071,880 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,005,570. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $107.25 and a 12-month high of $207.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.65. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $165.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.35.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 EPS 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, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group's payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXPE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $194.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Argus raised their price objective on Expedia Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Expedia Group from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 158,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,912,563.95. The trade was a 5.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.