LGT Group Foundation Buys 338 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

LGT Group Foundation raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up about 1.2% of LGT Group Foundation’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Booking were worth $53,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays cut their target price 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. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $9.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $3,406.34. The stock had a trading volume of 111,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,057. The firm has a market cap of $115.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3,531.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,395.06.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $24.74 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 29.67%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

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.