Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Buys 128,047 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. significantly increased its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. by 3,231.9%, purchasing an additional 128,047 shares, bringing its total ownership to 132,009 shares valued at approximately $22.2 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Expedia Group, with averages suggesting a potential target of $205.63 amid varying ratings from "sell" to "strong buy".
• Expedia Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.8%, set to be paid on September 18th.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 3,231.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,009 shares of the online travel company's stock after purchasing an additional 128,047 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. owned about 0.10% of Expedia Group worth $22,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXPE. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Expedia Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $408,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $10,948,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,140 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 821.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 251,940 shares of the online travel company's stock worth $46,944,000 after acquiring an additional 224,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expedia Group in the fourth quarter worth about $279,000. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EXPE shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Expedia Group from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wedbush increased their price target on Expedia Group from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson set a $218.00 price target on Expedia Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.63.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

EXPE opened at $209.68 on Thursday. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.46 and a 12-month high of $213.00. The stock has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $178.64 and a 200-day moving average of $173.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The online travel company reported $4.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.13 by $0.11. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 56.25% and a net margin of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. Expedia Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.61%.

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.

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