Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Buys 23 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 984 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $266,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Booking by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 385 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total value of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $649,640.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total value of $75,619.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 999 shares of company stock valued at $3,939,187. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock traded down $129.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $3,989.64. 226,749 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,758. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $3,869.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,665.49. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $2,733.04 and a one year high of $4,144.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $11.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4,700.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Booking from $3,800.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,850.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,980.15.

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.