Unique Wealth Strategies LLC Takes $3.53 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 994 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,525,000. Booking accounts for about 2.4% of Unique Wealth Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Booking by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 4,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,539,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Booking by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,635,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,841,000. Finally, Advisor Resource Council increased its position in Booking by 382.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Resource Council now owns 357 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,266,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other 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 transaction, the director now owns 289 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded up $18.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3,521.08. 146,026 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 193,606. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3,547.11 and its 200-day moving average is $3,383.62. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $24.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 29.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BKNG. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Booking in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,723.41.

Booking Company 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.