Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. Has $15.08 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 3.6%, owning 3,239 shares worth approximately $15.08 million, making it the 9th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Booking Holdings recently announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, yielding 0.68%, with a payout ratio of 23.89%.
• Booking's earnings per share for the last quarter was $24.81, exceeding estimates by $7.24, alongside revenue of $4.76 billion, up 7.9% year-over-year.

Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,239 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Booking makes up about 4.4% of Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Booking were worth $15,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Booking by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 195 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $973,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in Booking by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $184,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ BKNG traded down $17.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5,632.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 184,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,500. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5,546.48 and a 200 day moving average of $5,049.91. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.68%. Booking's payout ratio is 23.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,454.26.

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.