Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Position Lowered by Ninety One North America Inc.

Ninety One North America Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,575 shares during the period. Booking accounts for approximately 5.7% of Ninety One North America Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $117,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $1,068,137,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Booking by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,184,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,040 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Booking by 61.6% during the 4th 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 217,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $510,828,000 after purchasing an additional 5,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Booking by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 149,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $462,290,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BKNG. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Booking in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,150.00 target price for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,850.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded up $15.20 on Thursday, reaching $3,459.11. The stock had a trading volume of 63,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 272,781. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,456.93 and a 12-month high of $3,918.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3,586.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,364.25. The stock has a market cap of $118.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $24.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 211 shares in the company, valued at $756,027.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the transaction, the director now owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $756,027.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.