US Asset Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

US Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 71 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 4,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,539,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,635,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $24,841,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $879,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded up $120.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $3,780.03. 437,013 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 272,135. The company has a market cap of $128.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,532.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,420.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,456.93 and a 1 year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $11.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $815,101.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,498.29, for a total value of $97,952.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,101.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,651 shares of company stock worth $19,485,975 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Seaport Res Ptn restated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,876.96.

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.