Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 531,177 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA sold 531,177 Expedia shares, cutting its stake by 98.8% to 6,704 shares worth $1.899 million, per its latest 13F filing.
• Expedia beat quarterly expectations (EPS $3.78 vs $3.32; revenue $3.55B, +11.4% YoY), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.48 from $0.40, and the stock was up about 4.5% near $265.84.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of "Hold" with a $282.42 target (14 Buys, 22 Holds), institutional ownership is ~90.8%, insiders own 9.13% and one insider recently sold 8,225 shares.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 98.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,704 shares of the online travel company's stock after selling 531,177 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in Expedia Group were worth $1,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Expedia Group by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Rossby Financial LCC increased its position in Expedia Group by 103.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 161 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Expedia Group during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on EXPE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Expedia Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $245.00 price objective on Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Argus lowered their price objective on Expedia Group from $345.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price objective (down from $250.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $282.42.

Expedia Group Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ EXPE opened at $265.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.20 and a 52 week high of $303.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's fifty day moving average is $228.26 and its 200 day moving average is $246.03.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The online travel company reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.46. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 72.23% and a net margin of 8.78%.The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Expedia Group's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This is an increase from Expedia Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.49%.

Insider Activity at Expedia Group

In related news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 8,225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.82, for a total value of $1,816,244.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 102,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,629,633.60. This trade represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 9.13% of the company's stock.

Expedia Group Company Profile

Expedia Group NASDAQ: EXPE is a global travel technology company that operates an online marketplace connecting consumers, travel suppliers and third‑party partners. The company's platform enables search, comparison and booking of travel products and services, including hotels, airline tickets, vacation rentals, car rentals, cruises and packaged travel. Its portfolio comprises consumer-facing travel brands as well as corporate travel solutions and technology services that serve both leisure and business travelers.

Key offerings include consumer booking platforms and mobile apps that aggregate inventory from hotels, vacation rental managers, airlines and car rental companies, alongside ancillary travel services such as trip insurance and activities.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EXPE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.