Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Bought by Navalign LLC

Navalign LLC grew its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 337 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16 shares during the quarter. Navalign LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $1,068,137,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Booking by 3,557.5% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 142,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,870,000 after acquiring an additional 138,279 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Booking by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 295,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $596,303,000 after purchasing an additional 112,831 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Booking by 2,479.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $414,234,000 after purchasing an additional 112,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,919,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of BKNG traded down $45.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $3,627.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 274,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 287,796. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,456.93 and a 1-year high of $3,918.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,584.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,316.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $24.74 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 29.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,855.00 to $4,285.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,697.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the 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 value of $14,724,670.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,498.29, for a total transaction of $97,952.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $815,101.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,467 shares of company stock valued at $22,299,114. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

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.