4,206 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Purchased by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc., purchasing 4,206 shares valued at approximately $19.37 million during the 1st quarter.
• Booking reported a quarterly EPS of $55.40, exceeding analysts' estimates and demonstrating significant year-over-year revenue growth of 16.0%.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $9.60, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%, with the ex-dividend date on September 5th.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,206 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,373,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,249,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $209,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,366 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,398,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 125.8% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 35,467 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $176,217,000 after purchasing an additional 19,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abacus FCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,587 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $26.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $5,405.91. 186,426 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 199,192. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $5,569.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5,095.71. The company has a market capitalization of $175.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,394.85 and a 1-year high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $41.90 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Booking's payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $6,000.00 target price (up from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $6,700.00 price target (up previously from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,781.04.

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.