Sentry Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 517 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $96,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,744 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $5,729,000 after buying an additional 4,656 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 33.7% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 10,191 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 2,569 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,791,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 16.9% in the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,823 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $4,562,000 after buying an additional 4,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 13.1% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 649,716 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $96,171,000 after buying an additional 75,120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Expedia Group Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ EXPE opened at $199.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $186.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.82. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.25 and a 52 week high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The online travel company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is presently 17.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXPE has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Expedia Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total transaction of $1,851,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 168,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,198,700.75. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Expedia Group Profile

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.