Morningstar Investment Services LLC Has $8.84 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC decreased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 56.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,918 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,446 shares during the period. Booking comprises 1.6% of Morningstar Investment Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Morningstar Investment Services LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $8,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,054,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $18.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5,702.90. The stock had a trading volume of 147,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,463. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5,501.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5,021.69. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The stock has a market cap of $185.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. B. Riley upped their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BTIG Research upgraded Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Booking from $4,720.00 to $5,630.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,453.15.

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.