Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 92.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its holdings in Booking by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 164 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,157,314.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,157,314.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,651 shares of company stock valued at $19,485,975 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $2.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3,825.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 203,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,287. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3,585.76 and a 200-day moving average of $3,485.93. The stock has a market cap of $129.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 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.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $11.60 earnings per share. Booking’s revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,435.00 to $3,494.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Ten 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,876.96.

About Booking

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.