Altshuler Shaham Ltd Lowers Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd lessened its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18 shares during the quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,479.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $414,234,000 after purchasing an additional 112,249 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $3,774,850,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Booking by 139.8% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 65,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $201,166,000 after purchasing an additional 37,994 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Booking by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 101,736 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $317,313,000 after purchasing an additional 30,015 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 161.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 39,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $120,937,000 after purchasing an additional 24,219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,498.29, for a total transaction of $97,952.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $815,101.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $120.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $3,780.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 437,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 272,135. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3,532.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,420.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,456.93 and a 52 week high of $3,918.00. The company has a market capitalization of $128.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho upped their price target on Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 target price for the company. Ten 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,876.96.

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.