Ballentine Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 20.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 486 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 83 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $2,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 27.3% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $15,054,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $994,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the first quarter valued at $203,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BKNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Booking from $4,692.00 to $5,411.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $5,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Booking from $5,580.00 to $5,820.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,415.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total transaction of $5,425,698.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,073,911.22. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.0%

BKNG traded down $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5,717.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 150,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,909. The firm has a market cap of $186.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5,448.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,997.90. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $20.39 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Booking's payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

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.