Nuveen Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,116,784 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 57,642 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $208,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Expedia Group by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 26,664 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $4,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $457,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth $256,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Expedia Group by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,709 shares of the online travel company’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Expedia Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,745,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on EXPE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Expedia Group from $219.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $205.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Expedia Group from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Expedia Group from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.35.

Insider Activity

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total value of $1,028,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:EXPE opened at $166.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $21.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.62. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $207.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.88.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The online travel company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 52.41% and a net margin of 9.01%. Expedia Group’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Expedia Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.87%.

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.