Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 104,974 Shares of Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPD - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,390,235 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 104,974 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.96% of Expeditors International of Washington worth $176,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Expeditors International of Washington by 12.8% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 5,304 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in Expeditors International of Washington by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 369,420 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $46,990,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Expeditors International of Washington by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 452,233 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $57,524,000 after buying an additional 13,811 shares during the period. Stonebrook Private Inc. bought a new position in shares of Expeditors International of Washington during the 4th quarter worth $3,201,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Expeditors International of Washington by 4.2% during the third quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 148,162 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $16,983,000 after buying an additional 5,967 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.02% of the company's stock.

Expeditors International of Washington Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of EXPD traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $117.61. The company had a trading volume of 906,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,225,341. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $117.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 1.00. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.03 and a 52-week high of $131.17.

Expeditors International of Washington (NASDAQ:EXPD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The transportation company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.07. Expeditors International of Washington had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 28.89%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Expeditors International of Washington Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Expeditors International of Washington's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.69. Expeditors International of Washington's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Blake R. Bell sold 4,100 shares of Expeditors International of Washington stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.99, for a total value of $479,659.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 52,745 shares in the company, valued at $6,170,637.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Expeditors International of Washington news, VP Jeffrey F. Dickerman sold 2,000 shares of Expeditors International of Washington stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.63, for a total transaction of $245,260.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $702,424.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Blake R. Bell sold 4,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.99, for a total transaction of $479,659.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 52,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,170,637.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Expeditors International of Washington from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Expeditors International of Washington from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Expeditors International of Washington from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Expeditors International of Washington in a research note on Friday, March 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $126.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Expeditors International of Washington currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.13.

About Expeditors International of Washington

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides logistics services worldwide. The company offers airfreight services, such as air freight consolidation and forwarding; ocean freight and ocean services, including ocean freight consolidation, direct ocean forwarding, and order management; customs brokerage, import, intra-continental ground transportation and delivery, and warehousing and distribution services; and customs clearance, purchase order management, vendor consolidation, time-definite transportation services, temperature-controlled transit, cargo insurance, specialized cargo monitoring and tracking, and other supply chain solutions.

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