Smith Group Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,837 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up approximately 3.1% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $40,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. 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 business'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 directly owned 27,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $148,073,911.22. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,388.37.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock traded up $20.73 during trading on Thursday, reaching $5,722.49. The company had a trading volume of 131,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,858. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,799.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5,343.87 and a 200 day moving average of $4,966.95. The company has a market cap of $186.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. 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.