Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. decreased its holdings in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,915 shares of the online travel company’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Expedia Group were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EXPE. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 11.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,606 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $6,114,000 after acquiring an additional 4,011 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 49,521 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $7,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Expedia Group in the third quarter worth about $217,000. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 31.1% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 474,753 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $70,273,000 after acquiring an additional 112,610 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 33.6% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on EXPE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Expedia Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on Expedia Group from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Expedia Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expedia Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expedia Group news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of Expedia Group 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dara Khosrowshahi sold 10,000 shares of Expedia Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $1,697,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 158,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,912,563.95. The trade was a 5.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,577,900. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE opened at $184.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $187.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.44. Expedia Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.25 and a one year high of $207.73. 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 stock has a market cap of $23.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.83.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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, research analysts predict that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Expedia Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from Expedia Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Expedia Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.68%.

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.