Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by River Global Investors LLP

River Global Investors LLP decreased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 640 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises about 1.7% of River Global Investors LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Booking were worth $8,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Booking by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in Booking by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,823.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock valued at $18,891,445. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of BKNG traded up $104.47 on Friday, reaching $3,577.38. 534,715 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 200,734. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,524.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,399.84. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,456.93 and a 12 month high of $3,918.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. Booking had a negative return on equity of 433.49% and a net margin of 21.81%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $11.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.