Bessemer Group Inc. Has $251.59 Million Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 21.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,612 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 14,634 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.17% of Booking worth $251,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 521,609.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,887,718,000 after buying an additional 2,362,892 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,295,423,000 after buying an additional 864,406 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 803,125 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,986,244,000 after acquiring an additional 6,009 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,958,352,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Booking by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,831,499,000 after acquiring an additional 58,357 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total value of $5,425,698.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 27,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,073,911.22. This represents a 3.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. BTIG Research upgraded Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. B. Riley lifted their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,580.00 to $5,820.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,388.37.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $110.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $5,596.00. 219,255 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 247,902. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,644.38. The company's 50 day moving average is $5,231.92 and its 200 day moving average is $4,950.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $20.39 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.